Murderer
by Deja Know I Been Lookin For Vu
Summary: One of our favorite Alliance heroes has murdered a man who had no chance to fight back. Is his fate death? Or does Destiny have something else in mind for him?
1. Murderer

******Rating:** No language, some violence.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Wars, but this story is mine.

* * *

He'd killed a man. 

He'd choked the man's life out of him, and, as if that weren't enough, he hadn't realized he'd done it until it was too late.

Afterwards he'd been shocked, staring unbelievingly at the body slumped on the floor in front of him.

His first impulse was to run away. Far away.

But he couldn't do that. He had to hold himself responsible for his own actions.

He hadn't meant to murder the man.

No, he wasn't like that.

He hadn't even meant to _hurt_ him.

His mood had been getting worse all day, fueled easily and quickly by his anger at the wrong turn his life had been making, and he'd finally snapped when the man ran into him, despite the fact that it was a harmless accident.

He'd lifted the helpless man up by the throat and yelled at him. He'd shouted until his face was red, and it was only then that he noticed the other man's was blue.

He had instantly released his grip and stared with horror at the man whose name he didn't even know. As he was now.

_You've become that which you hate..._

_Murderer..._

_You killed a man..._

_Murderer..._

_There is no excuse for what you've done..._

_Murderer..._

_You don't deserve to live..._

_Murderer..._

_A helpless man, and yet you took his life..._

_Murderer..._

_It was an accident, not an assassination attempt..._

_Murderer..._

Voices from deep inside hissed at and taunted him, accused him...and battered him with his already depressed emotions into an even more alarming state.

He could take his own life...But then, that would be the easy way out.

He had to admit what he'd done, and bear the consequences.

No matter what they were.

* * *

Eyes in the court stared at him, all around. Accusingly. Unbelievingly. Sadly. Pityingly. Angrily.

His were on the ground. He couldn't bear to meet their gazes with his, for he had let them down.

He was guilty. He knew he was. He deserved to get whatever punishment was coming.

His lawyer didn't think so.

Of course not. The alien wasn't paid to think of him as guilty.

Leia had hired him. "The best in the galaxy," she'd said. He'd refused to talk to her, not trusting the words that would come out of his mouth.

But even _she_ had been a bit discouraged by the situation.

Although the information of the deceased's assignment wasn't released to the public, and the information given to the stunned murderer had been rather sketchy, the public had been allowed to know that the man he'd killed was a New Republic agent. The details given to the accused were that the man, Darius Novell, had been undercover, checking out a big, secretive spice exchange that was supposed to happen sometime on Coruscant between a few of the most powerful crimelords of the galaxy, possibly even high Imperial leaders, and that would most likely result in a bloodbath that would end many innocents' lives.

Just like _he_ had killed an innocent man.

And he would never forgive himself.

It was one thing to kill nameless faces in a war when they belonged to someone on the opposite side, and quite another to murder an unsuspecting person during peace for no reason other than that he was in a bad mood.

Perhaps if he had seemed to _want_ to defend himself, a hero of the Rebellion, more people would be on his side. But many were shocked that he had committed a crime of a magnitude that they (as did he) thought him incapable of, and they instantly went against him.

There was so much opposition against him that Mon Mothma knew she had to punish him in a way that would satisfy the suddenly blood-thirsty public, or the consequence would be a scream for 'real justice,' with people claiming that the Alliance was a supporter of things that were just only until one of their own was involved. But she knew better than to order the execution of a powerful Alliance figure whose assistance might someday be greatly needed. And, on a more personal note, she didn't want to cause the death of a man that she highly respected, and even considered something of a friend.

Since he was a strong man, she still held much hope for his survival and his continued support of the New Republic, despite the ruling against him, even if she didn't understand his strange outburst and uncharacteristic lashing out at an unknowing man.

And so it was to the prison planet saved only for the most ruthless of criminals and New Republic enemies that Mon Mothma sentenced Luke Skywalker to stay. For life.


	2. Tortured Soul

Luke was tightly bound to his chair, an ysalamiri in a nutrient cage staring darkly across at him.

His lightsaber and other weapons had been confiscated, although Leia had persuaded them to give the lightsaber to her, and she kept it hidden away, hoping desperately that Luke might someday be allowed to go free.

He was on a small ship, surrounded by several armed guards whose fingers were ready to apply pressure to the triggers that would end it all if he did so much as sneeze in a way that they thought was threatening.

But although the feeling of not being able to touch the Force felt strange and wrong, since he had depended on the Force without ysalamiri hampering him for quite some time, he knew that he deserved every bit of uncomfortableness, every smidgen of pain, any kind of punishment sent his way.

His eyes were closed lightly, and his brow furrowed sharply, as he mulled over why he had done what he had.

Although it seemed as out of character to himself as it did to others, he knew why.

Luke had argued, and heard others argue for him, that the actions of the father weren't to be blamed on the son and didn't truly foreshadow what the son did.

But now he knew that argument wasn't true.

And yet, it wasn't quite as clear cut as that. It was true that the father's being "bad" did not make the son bad...,And it wasn't true that the son was highly displeased by the father's actions and did bad things because of it, unaware that he was doing so.

Yes, it certainly wasn't _hereditary_ to be evil...

And yet, it _was_ tied to the whole father-son relationship, or lack of.

Luke gave a mental sigh. Well, whatever it was, he was as sure as the night was dark that he was following in his father's footsteps, although he hadn't realized it was exactly that until recently.

But his descent into darkness hadn't begun _just_ recently. No, perhaps a few months earlier, perhaps even a year earlier, he had woken up one day in what seemed like a bad mood. But it wasn't the 'wrong side of the bed' kind of mood, which he had thought was strange at the time.

He had tried teaching his students that day on Yavin VI, despite his sour mood and his questionably Dark Side-influenced, new techniques. But finally, a group of students had mustered up enough courage to come up to him and ask him what was wrong.

Scowling, he had replied that everything was wrong. The Republic diplomats was fighting over trivial issues, his brother-in-law was being an overall pain, his sister was actually _enjoying_ participating in the pointless heated discussions over the galaxy's condition—which, by the way, happened to be downright awful. Planet Security wasn't what it used to be, the Empire was slowly coming back to life, his students weren't even _attempting_ to train anymore, thinking of him as a mere joke of a teacher, and he had gone on and on until he had finally been interrupted by one brave, but rash, student.

"I don't see you trying to do anything about it," the apprentice had pointed out, which wasn't a smart thing to do, considering the circumstances.

And so he'd exploded with all of the pent-up emotions that he'd had for space knew how long. He'd called the student names, insulted the student's immediate family and ancestors, put-down nearly everyone at the Academy repeatedly, and threatened to stick his lightsaber down the boy's throat.

Biting his lip to keep from crying, the kid had run off as fast as his legs and the Force would take him, and later Luke was threatened with a harassment suit, which he grudgingly knew he more than deserved. But the charges had somehow been dismissed, and a few days later he had decided that it was Leia who had soothed and persuaded the family to drop them.

Through thick and thin, she had always remained on his side, even when he was at his most enraged and depressed point...

For depression had played a key role in the changing of his personality.

Callista's face had hung over his head like a dark shadow, refusing to leave. He had mourned her absence until he was almost past the breaking point, and then he had hated her for it. Wanted to _kill_ her for it, wanted to take his lightsaber and slice her slowly from limb to limb, listening to her screams of pain.

And, of course, there was Mara.

The beautiful, fiery young trader who always shot off her mouth and brought out the worst in him. Luke Skywalker, the Jedi Master that many had once thought had no weaknesses, would shoot back his own sarcastic replies, keeping the ex-Emperor's Hand away when he wanted nothing more than to be friends with her.

No.

That wasn't entirely true, and he knew it.

Luke wanted to be _more_ than friends, to finally have a personal relationship with someone...To _date _someone he deeply admired, and someone whose company he enjoyed despite her cynicism.

But he was unable to control his mouth, and so she stayed away, for two hot-headed single humans together created a lot of hurtful sparks. And so, the depression threatened to suffocate him in a thick blanket of darkness that grew even thicker every day.

He'd tried to bury himself in his teaching, but his varied emotions had finally piled up until he had burst like a volcano on more than one occasion.

And on the last occasion, strange as it was, he had started to think about his father, and how, if Anakin Skywalker hadn't decided to turn to the Dark Side and leave his family behind, Luke's mother might still be alive, and he and his twin sister might have had a _real_ childhood together. Owen and Beru Lars would have never been murdered, and the Empire would probably be little more than a dream that a few rebellious types had. Yoda and Ben might also still be alive...

But, because of his arrogant, unwise father, he had been deprived of what could have been an enjoyable childhood on a luscious planet, rather than on the harsh desert planet of Tatooine that he wanted little more than to never see again.

And so, anger had bubbled up and spread throughout his soul, like blood staining water deep scarlet. Once he had realized what had happened, he had tried cleansing himself with the Light, but his attempt changed very little.

A wise Jedi had once said, "If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny..."

And indeed it did...And had.

For he wasn't the same man that he had been before Callista, the woman who had done little more than take over one of his friends' bodies and cause him a lot of heartache.

For a moment, before his trial, he had tried to convince himself to mentally try to find the path of light once again. He had closed his eyes in concentration and lost himself in the Force.

He had reached for the Light, but it had proved elusive.

Figuratively, the trail back to Good was twisted, dark, and difficult to travel...He had little choice but to trudge on through the darkness and live with his pathetic, tortured soul.

For he had _killed_ a good man who would have probably had a long and happy life ahead of him. And so Luke would do his best to make sure his own life was long and painful to avenge the life of Darius Novell...And if the Dark Side helped him achieve that, then so be it.

He opened his eyes slowly. Gone was the once-crystal blue color of strained innocence, replaced by darkness currently unmatched by no other living soul, as the naive farmboy Luke Skywalker was replaced with something more sinister.


	3. A New Face

The guards marched him almost mechanically to his cell, one of them with an ysalamiri backpack, and all with their blasters pointed forbiddingly at Luke.

Expressionless, he walked their pace and gave them no trouble. They finally stopped at a door, deactivated the force-field surrounding it, and pressed in a long, complicated code that they blocked from Luke's view. Next, the human in charge's retina was scanned, and then his fingerprints.

The door slid open, the guards gun-ready, and Luke started to enter the room, still cuffed—

—but stood stock still in the doorframe when he saw the cell's sole occupant, an occupant whose red eyes were staring at him.

It was Thrawn. It _had_ to be.

He had pale and strangely blue skin on a very humanlike face, and his dark blue hair shimmered in the cell's bright lighting.

His glowing red eyes were calculating, measuring strengths and weaknesses, boring into the Jedi's soul.

Luke shivered involuntarily. The humanoid made even the steely Jedi feel uneasy.

The guard nearest him took a look at Luke's face and snorted. "Don't worry. That's not Thrawn. Looks a heck of a lot like 'em, but it ain't 'im. Claims he was Thrawn's bodyguard, a Chiss just like 'em."

"Chiss?" Luke inquired, meeting the calm humanoid's gaze.

"Their species," the guard grunted. "'S name is Voss Parck." He gave an evil grin. "'E's scared all of 'is other cellmates out of their wits. Most of 'em went insane. Strange thing was, they didn't even 'ave nary a scratch on 'em. So we ain't put no one in here for quite a while."

Chuckling maliciously, he turned around, and the guards briskly left the cell, the door sliding shut with a click. Luke had the feeling that several were watching the door, for the ysalamiri was right behind it.

Swallowing and steeling himself while flexing his cuffed hands, Luke slowly turned towards his companion, preparing to pin the humanoid with a venomous glare.

But his glare was met with a cool, unflinching gaze and a curt nod. "Welcome, Skywalker. How did an esteemed Jedi such as yourself manage to land the position of prisoner?"

Luke raised an eyebrow, surprised that the man knew his name. But then, Luke Skywalker's face had to be one of the most well-known in the galaxy. Slitting his eyes, Luke growled a little more forcefully than he meant to, "What? You haven't heard?"

"I don't enjoy listening to and picking apart idle gossip conjured up by inferior minds," the gray-clad Parck replied.

Luke sighed, wishing he could cross his arms. "I murdered a man."

"You murdered more than hundreds on the Death Star, and you weren't punished for that."

Pursing his lips and trying to ignore the humanoid's comment, Luke answered, "He was a New Republic figure, on _my_ side, and I had no real motive in mind."

"_Real_?" the blue-skinned humanoid inquired.

"It doesn't matter. He's dead. And I'm here." Luke sat down on the floor and leaned back against the wall.

"Consider the matter dropped." As an afterthought, Parck told him, "If you're wondering about your attire, they should bring your prison clothes soon enough."

"Great. I always loved gray," the Jedi rolled his eyes.

But Voss Parck said nothing.

Luke, whose cuffed hands were behind his back, tapped his fingertips against the cool metal. Finally, he could take it no longer. "You don't appear to be an overly frightening guy. Was that guard just trying to scare me with false stories?"

Parck shook his head. "No, those stories were quite real. You'll find that the human mind is easily susceptible to any type of pressure, when applied the right way. My cellmates displeased me with their brutish behavior, and I decided I would rid myself of them."

"Simple as that?"

"Precisely."

Again there was silence. A silence so full, and so quiet, that it felt loud and engulfing...It seemed like it was going to take Luke into a dark void that he would not be able to escape.

And he hated it, for the silence was made so by Parck.

He _knew_ that the other was waiting for him to tell him his story, his reasons, his side in the horrible mess that he'd gotten himself into. The other was _certain_ that he would break down and reveal everything.

And, though Luke wanted to do just that, to take the load off his shoulders, he couldn't. He _had_ to punish himself, to force himself to unflinchingly face what he had done...For he was evil, and evil deserved to be punished.

But there came a time when he could take it no longer. "_Fine_!" he gritted. "Do you really want to know everything?"

Parck shrugged, a mere minute lifting of his shoulders. "Are you ready to tell me everything?"

Luke glared at his expressionless cellmate, but just then the door whisked open.

Several guards entered, and one placed a few articles of clothing on the ground. "Change into these." Blasters pointed at the two prisoners, they uncuffed the Jedi.

Then they left.

Luke stared at the simple clothing. It was gray like Parck's, and had a black band on the arm's like his.

Sensing Luke's thoughts, Parck spoke, "The band indicates what level of security is required for each prisoner. Blue is for low security, yellow for medium, red for high, and black is for prisoners such as you and I. Political prisoners, and prisoners that are meant to be a secret from the prying eye of the public."

Nodding silently, Luke picked up what would be his new attire for space-knew-how-long. Voss Parck turned to give him a little privacy.

Luke quickly changed, then, after coughing slightly to let his companion know he was done, he stood stiffly, frowning in distaste at what he had just donned.

"One gets accustomed to it."

"I don't see how," Luke made a sour face. It was strange how he had almost slipped into a sort of camaraderie with his fellow captive. Well, as close to camaraderie as the cool Chiss got.

Luke sank back into his earlier position. "Have you attempted to escape yet?" It seemed like a valid enough question.

But it amused Parck. "Have I attempted to escape this heavily armed and guarded facility by myself?"

"Guess not..." Luke took a deep breath. A question had been nagging him at the back of his mind. "What was Thrawn like?"

That question appeared to throw the alien off guard. "What?"

Luke repeated himself, and Parck nodded. "That's what I thought you said."

"Well?"

"Thrawn...He was...Well, difficult to explain, really," the Chiss gave him a look that clearly said: _Drop it_.'

But Luke didn't feel like paying him any heed. "Attempt to."

"He had a talent for analyzing. End of story."

"Sounds like there's a lot of room for details in that story," Luke smirked.

"I don't see you volunteering any information," Parck pointed out, eyes narrowing slightly.

"I've never heard of _you_ before, but you've heard of me, and you know that I am trustworthy."

"You expect me to believe a Rebel is trustworthy?" Voss Parck snorted. "After all, you _did_ murder a man. You said so yourself."

"How do you know I told the truth? I could be lying."

"And rancors could fly. I guess we'll never know everything about the other, will we?" This time the Chiss' red eyes were mere slits.

Luke lifted his chin. So much for that tactic. "We might be in here a long time."

"We might," the other agreed.

"We could become partners."

"We could."

Luke gritted his teeth. The humanoid was getting on his nerves. What he would have given to be able to touch the Force for an instant and strangle him...

"Are you trying to make _me_ go insane?" Luke inquired. "Do you think I'm _that_ inferior?"

"Are you attempting to try my patience? Do you think that I would give in to my temper that easily?" Parck countered.

"I guess we're at a standstill, then," Luke sighed.

"I never guess. I _know_."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Many thanks to Moy for betaing! 


	4. Chiss and Jedi Part 1

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Luke finally spoke, albeit reluctantly, "So, what's the routine?"

Voss Parck's glittering red eyes gave the Jedi a calm, calculating gaze that caused him to squirm inwardly, then he replied, inclining his chin, "The machine in the wall gives us two meager excuses for meals a day. The refresher to the side is always open, but beware of the shower."

"Why?" Luke inquired, curiosity piqued.

"For a minute, you shall find its temperature to be satisfactory, but as soon as the thought crosses your mind it disappears, and the water is suddenly as frigid as Hoth. Mere moments later it is hotter than Tatooine's twin suns, and then the punishing cycle repeats. It seems your Republic isn't as kind as it would have people believe." Parck gave a grim smile, "We are never allowed to leave the cell, for they fear that we will attempt escape or suicide by ourselves or with help from others. It's one of the few signs of intelligence the incompetents in charge have shown."

"Any routine beatings?" Luke asked with a sigh. He didn't quite mean the question, however, as he didn't imagine the Republic would be cruel enough to beat its prisoners.

"From the guards or from your cellmate?" Parck shot, a hint of amusement tugging at his ruby eyes.

"Either."

"Depends on your behavior," the humanoid answered ambiguously.

"How do you know I wouldn't strangle you or them through the Force like my father used to do?" Luke questioned, eyes flashing challengingly.

"The ysalamiri won't allow that," the blue-skinned alien replied simply.

Luke slitted his eyes, "How do you know about the ysalamiri?"

"Thrawn knew, so I knew."

The Jedi had the feeling that there was something very important that the Chiss was neglecting to tell him, but Parck spoke before Luke could voice his thoughts. "Where do your allegiances lie now?"

Skywalker's brow furrowed, "What?"

"Your allegiances. Are you still loyal to those who imprisoned you?" The Chiss' question sounded innocent enough, but Luke knew Parck was trying to trip him up.

"They had good reason to do so," he pointed out.

"Perhaps...Perhaps not. Surely if you meant as much to them as you seem to think you do, they would forgive you for an error in judgment."

"I killed a man!" Luke exclaimed. "That qualifies as more than an 'error in judgment!'"

"Why did you kill him?"

"I was in a bad mood and he ran into me. I did it without thinking."

"Then it wasn't premeditated—"

"No," Luke told the Chiss forcefully.

"—and therefore was a mistake. How were you to know he wasn't trying to rob or assassinate you?"

"He didn't have a weap—"

"Some beings don't need crude weapons such as blasters and vibroblades. Their hands are weapons enough," Voss Parck countered.

"But that wasn't what I was thinking—"

"But if they had truly cared then they would have put it off to that. If they had truly appreciated the great amount of help that you have given them in the past—whether it was misguided or not—they would have forgiven you. You don't incarcerate a Jedi unless he's done something so horrendous that it's unspeakable. The only thing the Rebels gain by jailing you is a false show of power during a time that they don't need you. Mark my word, as soon as Trouble shows up on their doorstep you will be released, and they'll be at your feet, begging you to forgive them."

Luke glared at him. The Chiss was just trying to rile him.

And he was doing a krethin' good job of it.

Luke bit his lip. "Suppose, for argument's sake, you're right. Changing sides right now won't change the fact that I'm in a prison with an Imperial."

Voss Parck shrugged. "I never claimed it would."

Luke narrowed his eyes and changed the subject. "What's your story?"

The Chiss could sense that the Jedi wasn't going to let this one go, and sooner or later he would have to speak on it. "I was caught leaving the _Chimaera_. Evidently, the Rebels who captured me were frightened that advertising my presence would cause wide-spread panic, so they just put me here and kept quiet."

"Why?"

"They thought that the idea of more 'Thrawns' throughout the universe would cause mass hysteria, and people would change sides."

"You said you haven't attempted escape, but have you entertained ideas of it?"

"What prisoner doesn't?" came the cool reply, a tight smile accompanying it. "But the odds of one person managing to escape this high-security prison by himself are not great, I'm afraid."

"Are all of the Chiss geniuses like Thrawn?" Luke queried.

Parck chuckled, "My goodness, no. I wouldn't say that Thrawn qualified as a genius, eith—"

"But he almost managed to bring the whole New Republic to its knees, and he probably would have if he hadn't been executed," Luke pointed out.

"Murdered by that traitorous Rukh, you mean?" Parck's eyes were mere angered slits. Luke shrugged, and Voss Parck gave a small sigh. "Thrawn knew what had to be done, and he might have succeeded in doing so if events had gone a little differently."

"How did Thrawn do what he did?"

The Chiss raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Luke rephrased his question, "How did he read creatures the way he did?"

The blue-skinned humanoid's mouth tugged upward. "It's amazing what one can learn by a bit of studying."

"What kind of studying?" the Jedi inquired further.

"That would be exchanging secrets, and loyal Imperials do not tell their secrets to treasonous Rebels."

Luke laughed dryly. "Who would I tell my secrets to? The wall? I'm sure it'd love to hear this."

Disapproving of the Jedi's humor, Parck frowned. "How do I know that you aren't planted here to find information?"

Luke sighed. "Back to this again."

"True trust cannot be gained in less than a day. Sometimes it isn't even gained in an eternity."

For some reason, the words hung heavily in the air.

Parck interrupted the silence first. "Why do you stay loyal to the Rebels when they were the ones that put you in here?"

"Because I don't believe in the Empire's ideals," Luke stated quietly.

The humanoid waited for a moment, and when the Jedi said no more, Parck queried, "And?"

Voss Parck barely managed to hear the almost ashamed words that left Skywalker's mouth, "Because of my sister and friends."

Knowing that it was a delicate subject, Parck tried to speak with a light voice. "Sometimes you have to go against those you care for the most to obtain justice."

"But the Empire's certainly not a better government. They have prejudices against nonhumans, believe in slavery, and—"

"I'll be the first to admit that the current Empire has flaws, but it does because it has no strong leader to guide it. When Thrawn was the head, nonhuman prejudices were few. Especially since Thrawn himself wasn't human."

"But the people have no say in the Empire—"

"Again, that comes from poor leadership. The problem with the Republic is just that: it's a republic. What the galaxy needs is strong leadership to unite it and keep creatures from tearing it apart. When there are many different 'leaders,' the only thing they think of is what they want for themselves and their system, or planet, whereas when there are only a few major leaders, they are able to choose what is right for the galaxy as a whole, without pointless matters to distract them from their goals."

Luke grimaced, "Sounds like you've had a long time to think about this."

"What better matter is there to ponder than how to right the galaxy?"

"How about what our next meal's going to be?" Luke gave a small grin, trying to steer the conversation to a less delicate subject.

Parck shook his head imperceptibly. He knew the Jedi was very uncomfortable with the conversation.

Well. Never mind. They would have plenty of time to discuss it later.

Plenty of time.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Many thanks to Moy for betaing! 


	5. Chiss and Jedi Part 2

They finally found out what their next meal was, and when they did, Luke wasn't too happy about it.

He stared at the questionable bowl in his hand, prodding the sickly-looking food. "There's no way they can expect us to eat this."

"We're prisoners. Surely you didn't expect a Grand Buffet," came Parck's amused reply.

"I also didn't expect that they'd give us food that would make a dianoga sick," Luke grumbled. He poked at the gray, leafy soup with a cooking utensils, wincing as he thought he saw something moving in it.

Moaning, he set it down on the floor, "There's no way I'm putting that in my mouth."

"It's high in protein," Voss Parck told him, the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Yeah, and I bet it has sharp little teeth just waiting to latch on to my uvula," the Jedi muttered, stabbing at the watery mass that was still in the bowl on the metal floor.

Humored, the Chiss finished his meal and walked over to the wall, inserting his bowl and miscellaneous items into the machine that took it without complaint.

Luke hadn't even taken a bite of his yet, and he was still checking to make sure there weren't any eyes staring up at him.

"It won't kill you to eat it, but it might if you don't."

"It might kill me either way. It'll either rip apart my face, or my innards. Neither one sounds appealing."

The blue-skinned humanoid gazed at him through ruby eyes, "For a Jedi you are surprisingly fastidious when it concerns your next repast."

"So now you're going to psycho-analyze my eating habits," Luke smirked, bringing a spoonful of the strange stuff up to his mouth before thinking better of it.

"I was merely making an observation," Parck commented. Whatever he'd expected the Jedi to be like, it certainly wasn't this. Perhaps the trauma of having murdered someone, as well as the absence of the Force, was playing on his emotions.

"Or so you claim."

The Chiss narrowed his eyes. "Is that all you have left? A sarcastic wit?"

"I'm not what you expected," Luke stated, almost thoughtfully. "You probably thought I'd be some solemn, no-nonsense, religious man, obsessed only with the Force. The Force is not the only part of my life. I have a family—"

"Not your own," the Chiss reminded him.

It was Luke's turn to slit his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Your sister has a family, but you have no true family of your own. You have no wife, no heirs—"

"I was happy with my life," Luke defended. "I had a sister who loved me, two nephews and a niece—"

"You still have all that, but thanks to your government you can't enjoy it...And I don't see your sister coming to visit you." Parck noted inwardly that the Jedi had referred to his sister in the past tense.

"Because she has to support the New Republic," Luke insisted, a little more forcefully than he'd intended. "If one of the New Republic leaders didn't support justice, then people would start to question its ideals and—"

"If your sister truly cared, then she would release you from prison regardless of any affiliation with—"

Luke cut the Chiss off, his blue eyes sparking with anger, "She _does_ care. She just can't support me for fear of tearing the New Republic apart—"

"That's what you assume. Have you talked to her about this?"

Face taut, the Jedi hissed, "There wasn't enough _time_—"

"Then you have no proof, only speculation," Parck sat back, a hint of satisfaction on his face.

"I _know_ my sister," Luke gritted.

"You think you do. But can you feel her now?"

"No, you know that the ysalamiri—"

"Then you cannot be absolutely positive. You cannot tell me precisely what is going on in her head because you do not know. You should not claim to know things that you have no real knowledge of."

"But—"

Parck cut him off. "That is the simple truth, whether you choose to accept it or not. With mental growth comes acceptance. Do you choose to accept your ignorance concerning what your sister is thinking? Or are you going to hold on to your false hopes?"

"Why do I sense that we aren't just talking about my sister?" Luke groaned.

The Chiss's eyes glistened, "Very good, Skywalker. Do you choose to accept that now that the Rebels have come to a position of semi-authority, their ideals have become corrupted?" Before Luke could answer, he continued, "Do you choose to accept that having councils to make decisions is merely a waste of time, as councils do not focus on the main issue but instead on unrelated and trivial issues?"

"What about you?" Luke attempted to turn the tables on Parck and away from himself.

"I have already stated that the Empire is not perfect and that all it needs is competent leadership to right its wrongs."

The fair-headed Jedi stared at the floor and weakly stated, "But the people have no say in the Empire."

"But is it right for uninformed creatures to be the ones leading our galaxy?" Luke looked like he was about to object, but Parck silenced him with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Perhaps there are a few capable leaders out there, but they are greatly outnumbered by greedy individuals who are only interested in what _they_ want. A democracy cannot extinguish these types and prevent their rise to power...But the Empire can."

Like cornered prey, Luke lashed out with his last defense, "Then why did the Empire fall apart?"

"If the greatest of the Rebel leaders were murdered, their alliance would 'fall apart' as well." Parck gave a small sigh. "You'll find that the one thing all governments truly consist of is those who rule them. Poor leadership results in poor governments. Some governments are naturally more powerful than others, and an empire is one of them. When a government has strong but corrupt leaders, it is just as doomed as it would be if it had weak leaders. The key to proper government is to have a strong leader who looks at the whole picture and who is not concerned merely with personal pleasures and the pursuit of power."

"You can have a strong government with many leaders," the Jedi pointed out stubbornly.

"The more leaders there are, the more directions the government can be pulled in," Parck countered quietly.

"What about the phrase, 'three strands of rope together are stronger than three strands apart'?" The human raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"The weakest link can cause the chain to fail in completing its purpose," the Chiss said simply.

Luke started to talk, but the blue-skinned humanoid held up a hand to quiet him, "Remember, you should not let your friends' opinions rule your life. You see only the bad in the Empire because that is all you want to see. Your vision is obstructed by false beliefs conjured up by your friends and passed on to you. You need to find your own set of beliefs to abide by and not let their influence take control of your life. Do you want to see justice done? Or would you rather stay on the side that your companions are on, merely because you enjoy their company?" After a small pause, Parck gave a grim smile. "The choice is yours."

Luke stared at the Chiss, a lump forming in his throat. Why did he feel as if his entire universe were falling apart?

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks Moy for betaing! 


	6. Jedi Contemplations

Luke stared up at the ceiling. It was dark in the cell, and he and Parck were both laying down on cots. The cots weren't comfortable, but it was much better than sleeping on the floor.

From the sounds of his companion's breathing, Voss Parck wasn't asleep either.

Luke Skywalker didn't feel like talking, however. He found that his conversations with the extremely intelligent Chiss left him drained. The expression "kept him on his toes" took on a whole new meaning. Their conversations felt vibrant, and Parck remained patient even though he often gave knee-jerk reactions that had been drilled into him time and time again, both by Luke himself and by others. Even though he hated to admit it, Parck had instilled the beginnings of doubt into his mind about his beliefs.

Yes. He _hated_ to believe it...He wanted nothing more than to deny it to his death...But he was tired of running away from the truth.

He quietly took a deep breath.

Okay. He would admit it. The New Republic had its fair share of corrupted leaders. Corruption was to be expected in any government. Measures could be made to prevent the decay of ideals, but sometimes it seemed the most difficult of all to do so in a democracy. But surely it was best to fight for the government that was most beneficial to the people in the long run, rather than the one that was easiest to uphold...Right?

Luke mulled over what his cellmate had said to him. A democracy allowed time to be wasted, oftentimes due to quibbling over pointless issues, and when the republicans finally chose to focus on the main issue, they were often split down the middle, thus getting nowhere. Diplomats could quarrel for weeks over how to drive back an invading force, and they would be destroyed in the process.

Maybe for a single planet, democracy would be a wise choice, but in a time when the galaxy needed unity in destroying opponents and helping those in need, it suddenly didn't seem so wise.

The fight against Emperor Palpatine for a republic had been a wise one, for the tyrant had been a man solely out for power and wealth...Yet, maybe it should not have been a democracy that the Rebels fought for...Maybe an empire was a good idea, it had just been brought into effect by the wrong person.

Luke sighed inwardly. It wasn't as if his changing his political opinion would result in a change of the galactic government.

He was a prisoner of his own mistake, but his imprisonment had been finalized by those who had once been his close friends in a time of war. And now, in a time of peace, a wedge had driven them apart.

He had himself to blame. He knew. They knew...

But it didn't stop the pain...The longing...

...The wish to finally set a firm place for himself in life. Sure, he was a Jedi Master—even if he currently didn't feel like he deserved the title. Teaching students had never given him a strong enough feeling of accomplishment, and so he had gathered more and more in hopes that greater numbers would make him feel more complete.

Still, things felt wrong. He felt lonely, and he had not experienced a true sense of pride in himself since he had destroyed the Death Star, although he had tried to hide the fact from his sister.

He clenched his artificial hand, the action making him feel like even more of an alien to society. He was different from most people, and it wasn't his Force potential that set him apart.

Luke could blame it on his heritage, but Leia had the same father as he did, and she hadn't let it ruin or take control of her life. But she hadn't known Darth Vader as well as he had...

He knew it wasn't totally because of the deceased Sith Lord. Perhaps it was because he felt hollow inside, and it showed through his eyes.

Humans and aliens alike had always beheld him with either a sense of love or a sense of hate, but it was accompanied by awe every time, for he was a great Jedi Master and a Republic hero.

During his trial, he had mostly remained secluded, not wanting to know precisely what everyone thought of him after his murder of the New Republic agent, but he sensed there were now few with respect and pride in him.

He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't particularly care for anyone's opinion now, not anymore...What he really wanted to do was help save the galaxy.

The help he now wanted to give was not his typical "rescue damsels and the common creatures from distress." Instead, he wanted to help pull the galactic government out of the black hole it was being sucked into.

...To make a true difference and help right the wrongs he had helped put into place.

He squeezed his eyes shut. He could not believe that he was actually thinking about replacing the New Republic with the Empire.

Luke sighed. Maybe he would have a different perspective in the morning...

Parck could sense the restlessness of his fellow jailmate, and he knew that it had to deal with their previous conversations. Their conversations had disturbed the Jedi greatly, and Parck didn't bother trying to start up another one. He knew that the seeds of dubiousness he had planted were growing and spreading rapidly.

In time, Skywalker would finally see the light.

Voss Parck slowly broke into a cool smile. The irony of that thought was not lost on him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks Moy for betaing!

**Useless Trivia:** This fic was originally entitled "Exile."


	7. Dreams

When Luke Skywalker woke up, his mind was a blank.

Soon, feeling started to kick into his sleep-numbed body, and he noticed the cold durasteel ceiling above him, then he noticed the wall beside him, which was made of the same material and was strangely not decorated in any way...

He jolted up in his sorry excuse for a bed, then calmed himself when the realization of where he was dawned on him.

He was in a cell, with a Chiss...who was staring across at him with an inquisitive gaze.

Luke didn't give him an explanation, his grumpy morning self believing that Voss Parck didn't deserve one.

The Jedi groggily rubbed his hand over his stubble-covered face. He was usually a bright and cheerful morning person, but he hadn't slept very well, and disturbing nightmares had haunted his sleep, which was another unusual occurrence.

There was one that he could remember with an uneasy clarity, and reluctantly he allowed himself to replay it in his mind.

* * *

_Luke was on Tatooine, but not in a familiar place. Sand surrounded him on all sides almost tauntingly; the only other thing visible was the occasional rock surfaced by dry winds, as well as the rising twin suns, shining merrily. He bent down to touch the sand, to see if it were as real as it appeared, but it had no true substance. It was almost as if he were but a spirit with no purpose other than to be a spectator of whatever was to happen._

_The sand shifted pointedly around a certain small area, the grainy fingers grasping at it being aided by the whispering wind. Suddenly, the little hole spat out something._

_Curiously, he stepped forward a few steps and saw a white baby bird with glittering golden legs and beak, a bird of a kind that he knew wasn't native to Tatooine and that he had never seen before. It looked around with wide-eyed innocence and tried to shuffle around on the sea of sand, but it failed to move anywhere. It squeaked in annoyance at its failure but continued trying, never giving up._

_Time suddenly seemed to blur, and the bird grew older, its golden beak and legs turning to pink, and its bright white body was dabbled with gray, as if a light paintbrush were painting it on. Then Time slowed, and a slithering red serpent came into view._

_Hissing, it approached the bird, circling it a few times, but finally backing off a few yards, as if it knew that it wasn't the right moment._

_Time again sped by swiftly, the pink turning to yellow, the gray body turning to black, and dark blue eyes turning into a piercing scarlet. Time finally slowed once again, but it seemed reluctant to do so, almost as if it were a living entity being forced to do something against its will._

_The sable bird let out a harsh screech of anguish, and the snake took the opportunity to approach it, spitting out indecipherable questions and commands. With sad finality, the bird disappeared into the distance alongside the snake, as the two Tatooinian suns set, and the world became dark, not even lit by the normal bright light of the stars._

* * *

When the Chiss saw that the Jedi had finally reached a sense of awareness on the same plane that he was on, Parck handed him a gray bundle of clothes, telling him, "There's a razor available for your use in the refresher." 

Grimacing at the material in his arms, Luke went into the 'fresher and changed. When he was back out, he mumbled in a frustrated way, "Why couldn't it have been black?"

Perhaps not recognizing that it was a rhetorical question, or perhaps simply seeing a good chance to point something out, Parck replied. "The color gray is supposed to serve as a reminder that although we _are _sinful, there is still a hope for redemption. Not that it truly matters, since they are not going to just set us free, but symbolism is thought of as a sort of irony by those beings directly in charge."

Luke gave a bitter snort. "What? Did you study them before you came here?"

The Chiss merely gave him a gaze boarding on the edge of being perturbed, but Luke sensed that he had hit _something_ right on the mark.

Parck wasn't going to let on exactly what it was, though. Instead, his response was, "It's an observation that I have had quite a while to make. You'll have to remember that I have not remained with a 'cellmate' for very long."

Luke slitted his blue eyes, but he made nothing more of it. Maybe if Luke left Parck alone, then the Chiss would leave him alone.

It was hard to avoid conversation when there was nothing to take up one's time, so Luke finally broke the silence, almost angered at the hint of satisfaction in Voss Parck's red eyes at having known the extent of his patience so well. Parck, however, hadn't quite anticipated the question that Luke soon asked. "How have you been able to stand it?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean."

Luke sighed. "Being alone in a cell, day after day."

"You'll find that the mind can be an endless source of patience and that time spent alone in meditation can do wonders for the soul," Parck replied easily.

"I know that," Luke growled, exasperated. "I've done my own fair share of meditation, but not constantly and without companionship. Why exactly did you drive off your fellow prisoners? Brutes and incompetents or not, surely it would be better to have some _semblance_ of not being alone."

Parck shook his head slowly, as one might do to a guilty pet that knocked over something important and was trying to appear innocent. "Being around someone that is ignorant can often taint your own knowledge. It is best to remain apart from those who try to push their automatic and unconsidered opinions on to you."

Luke sensed an opportunity and jumped in, "Are you saying you can't hold your own against those that aren't as smart as you?"

Almost amused, Parck gave a cool smile, "I am merely saying that I'd prefer to be alone rather than surrounded by bearers of idiocy. If I have a choice, then that is the first one I will make."

"What exactly did you do to them?" Luke stared the blue-skinned alien in the eyes.

"Another tale, another time, perhaps."

"How come I knew you were going to say that?" Luke groaned.

"If you knew, then why did you bother to ask?" Parck lightly raised an eyebrow.

"I had to try."

"Trying is what ignorant souls do. If you know you can't do it or it won't happen, then you might as well save your resources and wait for a better time."

The Jedi was silent for a moment, then he asked quietly, "Is that one of Thrawn's techniques?"

"Only a fool wastes valuable manpower and resources on a battle that can't be won, Skywalker."

Luke said nothing for a while, then he looked up, staring Parck in the eyes. "Are you as good at picking apart dreams as you are people?"

Rather than answering directly, the Chiss asked, "What was your dream?"

The human took a moment to recollect his thoughts, then he began, staring down at the floor. "It was dawn, and I was on Tatooine, the place I knew as my home for years."

"But you'd rather not return there." It wasn't exactly a question or a statement, but somewhere in-between.

"Right," Luke agreed. "A bird was born out of the sand—"

"Perhaps it was you? It could signify how you wished to fly away from your homeplanet."

"Could be..."

"What color was it?"

"White."

Parck nodded, "The color of faith and purity."

"Time passed and it turned gray."

It was a moment before Parck answered, as if he were weighing what he would say. "As you gained knowledge."

The Jedi swallowed, "Then a red serpent came."

"Another symbolic color, standing for evil and blood," the Chiss told him.

"I think it wanted me to do something, but both I and the bird couldn't quite understand what it was."

"It could have been your father asking you to join the Dark Side. You refused because you had no true knowledge of your father _or_ the Dark Side...Merely what the Jedi had told you."

Uneasy, not knowing quite why he was sharing his dream with a being who was still little more than a stranger, Luke continued. "It finally turned black, let out a piercing cry, and left with the snake. Then the suns set, and everything became dark."

"The end of the old days, and a fresh new beginning?"

"Maybe." Luke didn't quite think that his dream was as simple as all that, but he wasn't skilled at dream analysis.

Parck didn't think the solution was quite so easy either, but he didn't voice anything further. He had a feeling that the darkness and snake symbolized so much more.


	8. Together Forever?

After another disgusting meal that he forced himself to eat, Luke, trying to push away the uneasiness that the dream had given him, broke the silence. "I still think the people should have a say. They know what they want."

Parck kept a smile from forming. The human was unable to avoid the topic he was most uncomfortable with. It was typical of his species. "But not what they need."

"That isn't always true," the Jedi pointed out.

"Perhaps. But there are some crucial matters whose outcome shouldn't be gambled on whether the People will or will not make the correct decision. That is where problems enter in with representatives. They either try to represent their planet and not the galaxy or they try to represent only their own greedy selves. A ruler understands that he owes the People his judgment, and he betrays them if he sacrifices it to their opinion, so he does what is best for all, not just his homeplanet."

"Palpatine didn't do that."

Parck replied coolly, "The Emperor didn't favor his homeplanet. He did what he thought was best, although he might have been a little misguided."

"Corrupted, you mean," Luke snorted.

Voss Parck remained in quiet thought for a moment, observing the Jedi with his knowledgeable eyes and making him uncomfortable. "Whichever term you prefer," he said at last.

Silence enshrouded Luke in a veil, but Parck sensed he had a question. After a moment of contemplation, the Chiss quoted, "He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever."

Ashamed, his voice a mere whisper, Luke inquired, "Why didn't they just execute me and end my misery?"

Other creatures might have been sympathetic, but Parck knew that self-pity was not healthy for the Jedi, and he did not feel like offering it forth to someone of such great potential. "Your time to die is not yet. They left you alive so that they could return to you as soon as the galaxy didn't seem quite so safe anymore. They want you to suffer, but not because of your actions, but because they envy you."

"Why would anyone envy _me_?" Luke laughed dryly, eyes fastened on the floor.

"Because you have things that they do not. You have the power of the galaxy at your hands, and you have gained the respect of both Imperials and Rebels. You're a talented pilot, and you possess great intelligence. Many wish they could attribute merely one of those qualities to their own characters." Parck was not trying to flatter.

"But I deserve to die!" Luke told him forcefully, eyes flaring.

"If you really believed that, then you would already be dead. The mind is more powerful than the body, and when it possesses the will to die, the body cannot prevent death from occurring." Red eyes flashed. "Pity deteriorates the soul, pollutes it. Rather than pitying yourself, you should be planning your escape."

Luke's brow furrowed. "Didn't you think it was foolish to try to escape a heavily guarded place like this?"

"Considering possibilities exercises your mind."

"It's also pointless."

"Exercise of the mind is never pointless," Parck returned.

The Jedi glared at the floor. He placed a hand on his face to calm himself, leaned down, took a deep breath, then straightened, lowering his hand down slowly to his side. His voice dry, he conceded, "You're right."

Parck waited. He felt that the Jedi's flash of anger was going to be accompanied by more than two simple words.

And he was right.

The young man spoke quietly, sadly, wistfully...And it was in a tone that almost sounded like he was confiding in the Chiss. The Jedi's voice wasn't one that was asking for pity...Instead, it consisted of something...more.

"It's not easy, you know, being pulled in so many different ways." He moistened his lips, eyes downcast. "Hating others with a passion unmatched by any before you...Hating the one thing that you thought made you unique,...an energy field that you once took comfort in...Hating yourself." He looked up, his blue eyes foggy and confused. Suddenly and eerily, they cleared, and their sapphire color intensified. "It's as if you're in a jungle. For all your life you've known only one small portion of it. You've come into contact several times with one beast...kind, trustworthy. A few times you've briefly met a different beast, of a much different kind. It seems more powerful, and tries to beckon you...But you've been warned away from it all your life, and when you see it, you try to distance yourself from it...You try to hold on to values, beliefs, morals, hopes...But one day you snap."

A muscle in his jaw twitched. "You are finally the one that calls the beast to you. The beast readily comes, appearing at the precise moment you were hoping it would. You have no interest in what it has to offer, though. All you wish is that it would tear you apart...But it won't. It wants you to lead a new life by its side. It calls you, makes you yearn for what it has to give you...And all the while the beast that you've known for most of your life stands on the sidelines, watching, waiting, and concerned for your future. You're torn between dangerous adventure and comfortable monotony. Should you take the risk and possibly be destroyed by it? Or should you do what you think is best for everyone else?"

Parck had trained his red eyes on Luke Skywalker when he began talking, and he kept them locked in the same position when he himself started speaking. "Only an ignorant man takes risks when there is nothing to gain, but only a fool doesn't take risks just because he's worried that the consequences might not be ideal. If one doesn't put oneself in the position of one's opposition, then one is unfairly prejudiced. If you've never been an Imperial, then how do you know that Imperial values are bad? How do you know that the so-called "Light Side" is not merely a lie concocted to force you to use more difficult methods to accomplish the same goal? Perhaps the Jedi constructed the ideas of light and dark to limit power in the hands of one who does not know how to use it. A new life can be a positive step, no matter how much some individuals try to make it seem the contrary."

"What if the beast just wants to corrupt you?"

"What if no one ever took risks?" Parck returned.

Luke clenched his artificial hand, grimacing at it. "Things aren't that simple."

"Are they not, Skywalker?" Voss Parck asked him coolly. "One cannot rise above life's obstacles if one is not willing to put one hundred and ten percent effort into the attempt."

"A man is unable to rise above obstacles if he has been badly maimed _in_ the attempt."

"Skywalker. What do you wish me to say? Both you and I know where I stand. It is about time that you decided for yourself where _you_ are going to stand."

Luke stared at his prosthetic hand; his fingers were twitching. He clutched it around the wrist with his other hand.

Risks...

His father had taken risks and lost everything. Who was to say that he wouldn't lose everything, too?

And yet, Luke knew he had already taken the first step towards the Dark Side. His anger had resulted in murder.

_Murderer_, the echo returned.

_You killed someone..._

_Murderer..._

Trembling, Luke thought back on that day. He'd seemed horrified, inside and out...but it seemed like, privately, he'd enjoyed it.

He took in a deep, quick breath, the admission striking him to the core.

He had enjoyed killing a helpless individual.

He had felt the darkness spread like electricity through his body, bringing to his senses a clarity that he had never experienced before. It had made him feel alive, powerful...He had known that the galaxy could be at his fingertips at that very moment...

As it could now.

He focused on his now-still fingers. He could touch the Dark Side for a little while, pull together the Empire, set their goals and affairs straight...He could easily overthrow the New Republic.

No, he corrected himself quickly. He wouldn't have to overthrow it...He could merge it with the Empire.

Surely his friends would be on his side if they knew his goals...

A dark grin spread across Luke's face like a black mask, smothering any possible remainder of his naive, farmboyish features. "So, have you entertained any worthy escape plans?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Merci, Moy! 


	9. Stirring of New Republic Troubles

Leia Organa Solo was proud of herself for refraining from smashing the datapad in her hand onto the table. Trouble was brewing.

Presently, the New Republic had its hands full fighting off Imperial factions that had appeared from nowhere, factions that seemed to have a source somewhere inside the Republic military.

New Republic Intelligence was working hard on finding the leak, but Fate seemed to have different ideas.

Unlike most of the other times in which Imperials had emerged to attack, the Imperials that had emerged this time were organized, and problems similar to the situation with Grand Admiral Thrawn (which, even after a few years had passed, was still an open wound) seemed to be arising.

In short, they needed help.

Leadership, good piloting skills, and good fighting skills in general were needed, and she knew just who could supply that.

Pensively, she glanced over at her sable-haired aide who was busy at work.

Sensing the Chief of State's gaze, the aide looked up, giving Leia a tight, fatigued smile.

The former princess of Alderaan returned with an understanding smile of her own, failing to notice that the gesture of weariness hadn't reached the dark-haired female's eyes. They were eyes of blue, speckled throughout with green, lending to the assistant's exotic appearance.

Leia brought her eyes back down to her datacard, but the other woman's gaze remained on her speculatively. Ever since her brother had been thrown in jail, the Chief of State had become rather unpredictable.

But sometimes, the unpredictable _was_ predictable.

Moments later, Leia had a com call from a very ambivalent trader.

"Your government's doomed," Mara stated, wasting no time.

"Don't say that," Leia returned calmly, although her insides were churning. What if it were true? What if the rise of the New Republic and the downfall of the Empire had been nothing more than a fluke? Could the unfortunate recent events be merely a foreshadowing of what was to come?

Matters certainly had not been going well. The New Republic was being assaulted from all sides, inside and out. Doom and gloom seemed to be the only things left.

"Skywalker needs out. Now."

"I know. I want him out as much as you do, but it isn't that simple."

The red-head narrowed her eyes, "You're being beat, you need a savior, Luke's always saved the universe before. How much simpler can you get?"

"I can't just break him out of jail, that would undermine the New Republic's auth—"

"You don't _have_ to do it," Mara bit out. "I will."

"_You_?"

"You forget that I was once an incredibly skilled Imperial agent."

"Luke's in the highest security prison we have in the New Republic," Leia reminded her, "_and_ if any proof of your involvement leaks out, you could be branded for life."

"Better me than you."

Leia shook her head, "I can't let you do this."

"You can't stop me," Mara shot back, "so you might as well help me...To a point."

The leader of the New Republic stared at the holo in front of her, taking in a deep breath. "Fine."

She stared vaguely off into space, as if seeing something that Mara couldn't. Her brown eyes remained distant as if she were seeing a disturbing vision, and she mumbled under her breath, "Can't break...him...out...Not quite...this moment..." Leia sharply jerked her head up, breaking herself out of her trance. She refrained from passing her hands in front of her face.

It was already too late.

She had waited too long to free her brother, and events were going to start spiraling out of control. And yet, she couldn't condone Mara's going on her own to break Luke out. Leia would gather Wedge and a few others together, and _then_ they would get her brother out.

"I don't think you should try to help him escape now."

"Leia, if you're doubting my abilities—"

"It's not that!" the wife of Han Solo insisted forcefully. "The time to do it isn't now. We need to prepare him for the break out, gather a small trustworthy force, and break him out during a time that any sentient New Republic citizen would agree that his help is needed. Otherwise the authorities would trail him and he would have no peace."

Green eyes bored into Leia's soul, sensing some deceit beneath Leia's words, but not quite able to place it. "That isn't the only reason you want me to wait, is it?" It was a forceful question that required the Chief of State to reply.

"No," Leia thought back to the troubling moment before. "It's not." After a moment, "_Only_ give Luke a message. Do not attempt to help him escape. Tell him about the crisis the New Republic is having to face and tell him that we desperately need his help...Let him know we're working on getting him out and we haven't forgotten about him."

Mara nodded, and Leia continued. "How are you going to make sure none of the guards hear the message?"

Giving a grim grin, Mara replied, "I can handle it."

After a moment, Leia added, "Give him my love."

"I will," Mara nodded.

"Are you sure you don't need any help? I'm sure Han would—"

"It's fine," the trader said quickly. "I want to do this on my own."

Giving the ex-Emperor's Hand a penetrating stare, Leia nodded slowly, and the holo dissolved into nothingness.

* * *

From her desk, the aide had heard the entire conversation, but Leia was caught up in troubled thoughts, oblivious to that fact. 

Seeing her opportunity to slip out, the Chief of State's assistant did so, but not until after she made a few quick preparations.

Soon the dark-haired woman found herself in the spaceport, and in a few moments she was sitting in a ship, keying in information.

* * *

In a different ship, but in the same docking bay, a red-headed trader punched in codes of her own. Under her breath, Mara muttered, "Destination, Du'talfrr."

* * *

The aide finished her task, and the name of the planet popped up on her screen. Du'talfrr.

* * *

"We could jump the guards."

Luke was worked up, pacing the room in a manner similar to that of a sabercat pacing around the fire that was protecting its prey. His thoughts were jumbled, and he was having increasing difficulty in clearing his head.

Parck shook his head lightly in disagreement, "We have no weapons. The guards are always on alert, and they have ysalamiri to block the Force. Surely even you cannot face up to those odds?"

Luke made a vague semblance of an agreeing nod, and the Chiss told him firmly, "We must wait for a better time."

"_Will_ there ever be a better time? What if we miss the opportunity? What if we are stuck in here forever?" Luke clenched his fists.

Parck could sense that the Jedi was not just anxious to escape from their prison. He was thirsty for blood...Blood of nearly anyone, but especially the blood of those in the New Republic who had ungratefully helped trap him in his rusted cage.

The Chiss could see it in the human's eyes, the sharp glint that kept shining through them, the fire behind the orbs that was making the sapphire color seem to do a sort of war-dance, as if something deep within him wanted to burst free.

"Patience," Parck told him.

Making a frustrated noise, Luke stopped his frantic walking and leaned back against the wall. "You're right. The time is not right."

_Good,_ Parck thought to himself. Acceptance seemed to come more easily to the Jedi than ever before. The Chiss allowed himself a private smile. It would help simplify things.

"Still...You can't blame me for hoping."

"Hopes never bring in results," Parck chided him. "Action is what usually instigates results, but sometimes one must wait until Opportunity shows itself."

"Yes, patience," the fair-headed human muttered emphatically to himself. Obviously, patience was not his best virtue.

"You have survived the food this long. Surely a while longer will not make much of a difference."

Luke took a moment to register what Parck said, then he admitted, "But I feel unusually restless."

The Chiss raised a blue-black eyebrow. "Surely it's not the Force?"

The human shook his head. "I can't touch the Force...but it's an elusive feeling...Almost...intuition."

Skywalker's cellmate studied him. Perhaps the Jedi was right...The timeframe just might be right...

Slowly, Luke shook his head. "Nah...It couldn't be..." So softly that the Chiss had to strain to hear him, although he had not intended for the humanoid to do so, he whispered, "No one's coming for me..."

_I wouldn't be so sure of that, Skywalker..._Parck trailed off in thought, not noticing that Luke was clenching his right hand in rage and pain.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I would like to thank my wonderful betas, Moyima and JA. 


	10. Blaring Alarms

Alarms sounded.

They rang out like angry Krayt dragons, loud and commanding, exciting the spirit and sending adrenaline shooting through the blood. At least, it was sending adrenaline through Luke's blood.

The young man threw a cocky grin at Parck that was reminiscent of one of Solo's. "Could _this_ be the right time?"

Parck tilted his head slightly to attempt to sift through the blaring noise of the alarms, but he heard nothing else. "It's more than likely a dispute among the lower security prisoners. They are inclined to be more venomous in their insults and often start fist-fights in the mess hall."

The Jedi studied the other being's pale blue face, then he looked towards the door, speaking softly, "A guy can dream."

The cell door slid open unexpectedly, and in stepped a civilian whose presence nearly caused Luke's jaw to drop to the floor.

From his position in the back of the cell, Parck carefully studied his companion, as well as the new human, whose appearance _could_ cause some problems, or, quite possibly, tilt the odds in his favor somewhat.

"Hello, Skywalker," the woman said softly in greeting. "Funny meeting you here. You would be the last person I would expect to be gathering dust in a place like this."

"Mara," Luke returned, not kindly, but not unkindly. It was a formality that sounded far too empty to the ex-Hand's sharp ears. Almost mechanically, Luke inquired, "How'd you get in here?"

Paying Luke no attention, she lifted her green-eyed gaze up and slightly past Luke's shoulder. Her eyes widened marginally at the sight of the farmboy's cellmate, and she brought her eyes back to Luke's face. Quietly, but with an edge to her voice, she inquired through gritted teeth, "Is that who I think it is?"

"No, Ms. Jade," the Chiss' voice carried easily across the short distance. "I am Thrawn's _bodyguard_, Voss Parck."

The red-head slitted her eyes, instantly spewing the present contents of her mind at him: "How do you know my name? And since when did Thrawn have a bodyguard of the same species as him? I thought he used the _Noghri_."

Parck answered her questions smoothly. "You were well-respected by Thrawn, and _I_ knew many of those beings that Thrawn knew. Yes, the late Grand Admiral did use the Noghri, but he knew that he should not rest all of his faith entirely upon them. Therefore he brought me to the _Chimaera_...He knew that _I_ was _completely_ trustworthy."

Mara's emerald eyes bored briefly into the Chiss' demon-like red ones, and Parck returned her stare unflinchingly. She turned to Luke in annoyance with her chin jutting out. "I have a message for you."

"Oh?" Luke raised an eyebrow, curiously.

Mara cleared her throat, "It's from Leia."

"Yes?"

The redhead's gaze returned to the Chiss' face, and Luke attempted to quell her uneasiness, "Don't worry about him."

Had a smirk not been beneath him, Parck might have given one. As it was, he gave the trader a cool smile.

Still disconcerted by Voss Parck's presence, as well as the look he had just given her, Mara started, choosing to not dilly-dally. "You have no idea what's happening on the outside. The New Republic is being bombarded by attacks that have come from virtually nowhere. Efforts to pinpoint the hiding spots of the Imperial remnants have been futile. Your sister and the rest of the galaxy are in desperate need of your help, and she's working on busting you out of here. She sends you her love and wants you to know she hasn't forgotten about you."

For a long stretch of time, Luke was an unreadable blank. No frown marred his features, no smile graced his face. His lack of reaction had Mara worried. She had not expected him to be exactly happy about having to sit and rot in a jail cell as long as he had, but she also had not expected him to be so...cold?

The cold she could somehow sense without the Force or any visible signs finally showed itself clearly: Luke's eyes were a frigid blue and his jaw was firmly set. "Hasn't forgotten about me." Every word was clearly enunciated and spoken with a bitterness that Mara had never known could be expressed by the usually passive Jedi.

It was with that same emphasis on every syllable that Luke continued speaking. "I waited—I prayed—I hoped—I _lived_ for the day that I would _finally_ hear something from Leia,...from Han,...from _you_,...from..._anybody_ to show that there was some _semblance_ of worry about me within them...But hope is a fragile thing that will not last forever, and mine was _shattered_."

He took a quick breath, as if reluctant to even briefly stop turning his thoughts into words. "I finally began to reshape the pieces of my broken life, and then _you_ come and expect me to mold it back into what it once was so that I can be disappointed once again."

Mara attempted to interrupt, but Luke was in a cold yet fiery rage, "I will _not_ rebuild false hopes and dreams. I heard nothing from my family,...from _you_, until all of you found yourselves in a crisis. Until you all _needed_ me. I am more than a tool that can be brought out and put up at will. I am a _person_, and my name is Luke Skywalker. Take _care_ to remember that." The male human threw a quick gaze towards the Chiss. "He foretold precisely what happened, merely reinforcing my recent decision that a man can't trust his friends."

"Skywalker," Mara said sharply, letting out a sour laugh. "You're going to trust your cellmate from a high security prison?"

"_I'm_ in here, aren't I?" Luke was strangely silent for a moment. "The New Republic isn't as fair as one would think and hope it is."

"You're letting him brainwash—"

"He has _not_ brainwashed me," the Jedi spat out. "He has helped to _clear_ the haze in my mind that glorified every aspect of my family and friends."

"A little glorification here and there never hurt anybody—"

"Do you really believe that?" Parck finally spoke up.

The redhead started to spit out a blasphemous reply, but Luke was the first to talk. "She believes only what is convenient for her."

"That is _not_ true, Skywalker," Mara growled.

"Go tell it to someone who _isn't_ used to being fed lies!"

The trader opened her mouth to do a thorough insulting of his ancestry, but a sudden overload of her senses caused her to pause.

The Force was back.

Which meant...what?

Mara frowned, then her eyes widened as she felt Luke's anger invade the room. His eyes were glinting with aggression, and for an idle moment she wondered if he would strike her.

The observant Parck had noticed the change in the two and concluded correctly that the ysalamiri had been disposed of...

* * *

Taking in a victorious but slightly angered breath, the female guard started to enter the cell before her, but she noticed other guards coming her way. The alarms had ceased, and the trio seemed satisfied. The three abruptly frowned, but after a tickle in their mind, their good mood returned.

"How's the situation?" she called to them.

"Taken care of," came the short reply.

"I'm checkin' in on Skywalker and Parck, makin' sure they aren't all riled up 'cause of the noise," the female told the group of males gruffly.

Some guards down the hallway who looked bored with their duty were curiously watching the quartet, and one's antenna twitched minutely.

Quickening her pace with slightly widened eyes, the black-haired female guard entered with her weapon cocked and the other three guards close behind her.

As soon as the door shut, four blasters were up and pointed directly at Mara Jade. A stun bolt was fired at her, but its path was stopped by Luke, who stepped in front of the trader and absorbed the energy. Luke lifted his hand, stopping more stun bolts and sending them angrily back to their sources.

With a flash of his eyes, Skywalker regarded the three suddenly floored guards with a affirming nod. He lifted his eyes to the two females who had blasters which were _not_ set on stun and happened to be pointed at each other's throat. He distantly wondered how Mara had gotten hers through security, then he decided he probably didn't want to know.

It was in that instant that he realized the female guard was a Force user.

Parck began talking with a sly smile, "Your timing is impeccable."

"Yeah, well, I try," she mumbled. "I would've gotten here before Red, but she had a head-start."

"Indeed."

Luke frowned, "You know each other?"

"She's our vessel off-planet."

Mara studied the black-haired woman for a moment, vague recognition kicking in, "Aren't you—?"

"Organa's aide?" the woman smiled viciously.

The trader glanced down at the guards on the floor, eyes widening as she observed their lifeless forms. They weren't breathing. ...Were they?

Wouldn't Skywalker usually just stun them?

"As enlightening as this conversation is, I suggest we get going before any _more_ guards decide to join us," Luke squatted down beside one of the guards, evaluating his build briefly before beginning his task.

"What are you doing!" Mara asked incredulously as she watched the fair-headed man strip one of the human guards of his clothes.

"Changing uniforms," he informed her shortly. "We can fool the guards, but not the cameras."


	11. Operation: Escape Attempt

The mysterious aide handed Parck a tube of skin-color changing solution, and while the other three hastily donned their newly acquired uniforms, she explained how she had rigged the cameras to show a tape of Parck and Luke tucked safely inside to avoid arousing suspicion.

Voss Parck pulled the sentry's hat down low over his piercing red eyes, and with the solution applied he looked decidedly human. Squirming a little at the uncomfortable fit of the uniform she had been forced to put on, Mara tucked her red hair under her hat as she eyed the aide distrustfully. Something rang false in the aide's rescue assistance.

Before long, everyone was prepared.

At a nod from the aide, they marched out of the cell, blasters at the ready. Before they got close enough that the guards could realize that the foursome contained none of their comrades, Luke used the Force to blur their memory of the sentinels that were resting on the floor of the cell.

Luke's breath growled low in his throat when it registered in his mind that one of the guards was a Gotal. The gray-furred humanoid didn't appear to have noticed the presence of any of the Force-users, but it was only a matter of distance. It moved its head slightly, giving Luke a better view of the two cone-like horns which could be the death of him.

Luke cursed under his breath and hissed, "Trouble's coming up. Get ready."

Luke didn't have to tell them twice, for the trio had already tightened their grips on their weapons, and their reflexes were ready to be hair-trigger.

Luke knew that Gotals could sense the presence of the Force as a sort of vague buzzing in the horns, and he also knew that it was a true problem when a single Jedi convict and his two Force sensitive rescuers were approaching one.

Luke abruptly began to turn, but a slight shake of the head from Parck changed his mind. It was too late to turn around. It would arouse the suspicions of the guards.

Mara, watching closely and nervously, saw the change of facial expression in the Gotal guard, and she elbowed Luke harshly as the Gotal registered the presence of the Force sensitives and quietly spoke to one of its companions concerning it. The tentacled being it had confided in straightened and walked towards them, holding a small device. Weapon pointed at them, and the machine readied in a different tentacle, it squelched something out that sounded like, "State your number and purpose."

The black-haired female aide spoke up, mechanically rattling off a number she had gotten from the minds of one of the guards and declared, "We were checking on Skywalker and Parck, making sure the commotion didn't get them riled up."

The creature's attention was briefly preoccupied with its device, comparing the number with a picture. When it finally realized that the holo did not match the physical appearance of the female human, it was too late to do anything about it. A smoking hole, courtesy of Leia Organa Solo's aide, had appeared in the middle of its chest.

Alarms started blaring and blaster bolts flew, lighting the room with an eerie red tint. A lightsaber appeared in the aide's hand as she expertly deflected the bolts, and Luke, not bothering with the borrowed blaster, reached out to the Force and wiped out the rest of the sentinels with one irritated Dark Side sweep.

"Come on!" he gritted, rushing forward. They complied. After a little running, he stopped at a computer. "Does anyone have any slicing skills?"

"I already know the lay-out. Follow me." The unnamed member started forward, glancing over her shoulder briefly to pick off a grounded human who had started to stir. She continued on, her composure not changing in the slightest.

"You do realize that we are going to be flooded with attackers in a minute, Skywalker?" Mara growled, glaring laser bolts into the back of the woman in front of her.

Parck noted to himself that Palpatine's former Hand was distancing herself from Skywalker's rescuers, preferring only to speak to the Jedi. It was hard to earn Mara Jade's trust, but once one did...

Luke didn't take the bait, merely returning, "Yes, and I'll take care of them."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. You're lapsing into fatherly habits now, aren't you!" the redhead shot, receiving a lethal glare.

However, the expected swarm of angry living assailants didn't come. Instead, a sole disk-shaped machine wheeled forward and quickly uncurled, revealing its insectoid appearance and surrounding itself with a strange blue bubble. The bronze-armored combat automata brought up immense twin blasters at the end of heavy arms, pointing them at the humans and the Chiss in front of it.

Wide-eyed, Mara hissed, "What in space _is_ that thing!"

Luke quickly returned, "I don't know! Shoot it!"

Jade brought up her blaster, and the droid, which was slow and awkward on its three legs when compared to its disk form, readily unleashed destructive energy back at her.

"It's useless, Red," the dark-haired woman informed her dryly as she blocked the shots the droid sent with her lightsaber. "A droideka's deflector shields will block pretty much anything. You'd be here for quite some time before they finally give in. Let's run past it before more come and thoroughly slaughter us."

She didn't have to make her suggestion twice. She helped the others get past the droid by distracting it with her lightsaber, and she finally ran backwards after them.

"Prepare to be hit by something unexpected," Parck advised.

"Why'd you have to say that?" Mara muttered.

Suddenly, the ground dropped from beneath them, and, with a harsh thump, they rammed into hard metal. The ceiling.

Although, technically, it could be called the floor. Gravity had reversed.

They scrambled forward wordlessly (with the exception of a few curses, and grunts if one cares to classify such sounds as words) and as swiftly as possible before being thrown once again, this time on the true floor of the room.

The group bounced back upwards, limbs flailing and impolite phrases flying as arms were found in mouths, then they struck the floor again. They rushed to get out of the room before the gravity could switch again, the aide mumbling that they would take an alternate route.

The Force disappeared. "Sith!" Luke hissed as he wiped away some of the blood that was trickling down his nose (courtesy of his encounter with indecisive gravity), looking around for a ysalamiri backpacker but finding himself thrown to the ground, fur in his face, and long-clawed, triple-jointed fingers searching for pressure points. Luke twisted violently, and somehow managed to throw the stocky beast off him, and into the wall, catching a quick glance of what appeared to be a large, scarlet-eyed shadow, which came snarling back at him.

Mara Jade shot at it, cursed when the Wraith dodged, and swore even more viciously when she was attacked by another which _did_ have a ysalamiri backpack on. A third shadowy Defel stood at the sidelines, shooting stun blasts every which way, before it was finally hit by a well-aimed bolt from Voss Parck, who, with the cool female beside him, carefully looked for an opportunity to shoot at one of the two remaining Defels and their ysalamiri.

Finally, Parck picked off the strange creature, and Skywalker and the standing woman took care of the pair of illusory Wraiths with the Force. Mara snarled, "Took you long enough."

Coolly, the dark headed female informed her, "You should just be glad we didn't let one of them finish you off. Let's go before we're hit with something worse, like oxygen deprivation."

Under her breath, Mara seethed, "Or, even better, you get hit with the butt end of a blaster."

The lady turned to her, eyes flaring, "Watch it, Red, or you'll be spitting blaster bolts for a month."

"I'd rather be spitting blaster bolts than looking like I'd been hit by one!" the redhead retorted.

"Enough!" Luke growled. "Cat fight later, escape _now_."

* * *

**_Author's Note:_** Thanks to Brigantia for betaing, thanks to Moy for the droideka thing (and for helping with most of the plot), and thanks to Kitt, as well as for a help on descriptions. Also, thanks to Kitt for the reversal of gravity idea. 


	12. Cue the drum roll and maniacal laughing

More guards appeared, looking menacing and angry, and they were promptly downed by their own shots, as reflected by Kantasha's buzzing lightsaber.

The four fugitives suddenly found themselves surrounded, and one lightsaber was only able to do so much. Mara was carefully and effectively aiming at and disabling sentries when a sudden jolt of searing pain in her shoulder threw her to the ground.

"Mara!" Luke cried out, dropping to the floor, oblivious to the raging firefight around him.

"Are you insane, Skywalker? You're gonna get yourself killed...I'm _fine_," Mara scowled. She tried to put on a brave face, but Luke knew that the pain she was feeling was excruciating.

"You'll thank me later," he told her, inwardly wincing as he used the Force to knock her out. He closed his eyes and touched her shoulder lightly, starting the healing process.

Livid, he rose to his feet and extended his palm out, the Dark Side providing him all the power he needed to bring down those accursed guards.

Luke no longer had any qualms about using the Force to aid him in their escape, it seemed, and, after the most immediate threats were taken care of, he swept Mara Jade up in his arms and stalked forward impatiently, finally pausing since he was unsure of which direction to go.

The anonymous aide then led the way.

* * *

They didn't get to the ship without more trouble, and they certainly wouldn't have expected less from a maximum security prison on lockdown. But with Luke's increasing anger it was not as difficult as it might have been.

The dark-haired woman was familiar with the ship's passcode and controls, and it wasn't too hard to guess that she had made sure the supply ship was planted there.

But why she had done so was what Luke wanted to know.

Before he could ask her any questions, she requested clearance to takeoff, stating a code. Seeing Luke's dubious glance as to the ease of their escape, she told him crisply, "I modified their memories earlier."

Despite their getting clearance, they did not get away completely unscathed. Evidently, someone saw them leaving at a time when there was supposed to be no incoming or outgoing traffic due to the lockdown. Several craft gave chase, and a few glancing blasts hit the ship's hull before the escapees got far enough out of the planet's gravitational pull to jump into hyperspace.

Luke started tending to Mara, not noticing the strange look he was receiving from the still unidentified aide. He finally spoke in a quiet voice, "I want to hear your story when Mara wakes up...She deserves to hear it just as much as I do."

The woman sighed. "Very well, then."

* * *

"Skywalker, I'm going to kill you."

Luke turned his head to see green eyes glaring fiercely at him from the seat across from his. "How's your shoulder feeling?"

"Perhaps you didn't hear me. Your head is going to be served on a platter to—"

"It was for your own good!" Luke exclaimed defensively.

"And you didn't think of consulting me?" Mara Jade growled.

"I'm sorry, I was a little preoccupied."

"Yeah, well—"

The aide cut them off by clearing her throat. Luke shifted, looking at her. "So what _is_ your story?"

"My name is Kantasha Pellaeon—" she began, getting cut off by Mara.

"As in _Gilad_ Pellaeon, who served under Thrawn?"

Eyes flashing, the dark-haired woman answered, "He is my grandfather."

"I didn't know he had any kids," Luke remarked.

"Few do. Gilad was about to ship out for the military since he was already enlisted, and my father was the result of a fling he had when he was eighteen. Shortly after my grandmother became pregnant, he had to leave. My grandmother begged him not to go, but he was eager for action and angered by her persistence."

"Typical male," Mara muttered under her breath, earning a sharp, annoyed glance from Luke.

"She died in childbirth. Gilad found out about my father and made preparations for him to be taken care of by friends, warning them not to tell my father about his origins until he was of age. As soon as he turned eighteen, my father was told about his relationship to Gilad, and he moved to Coruscant in hopes that he might one day catch a glimpse of Gilad. He eventually married my mother after making his fortune, and they stayed on Coruscant." Kantasha paused for a moment, pursing her lips. "They were very different from me. They didn't understand the strange powers I had, and it frightened them. They were nearly forty when Darth Vader had them killed, sabotaging the cruise liner they were on while I was staying with my mother's sister. Vader killed them for my benefit as well as his, taking me in as an apprentice. Of course, he didn't know about _you_, then." Kantasha looked at Luke pointedly.

Luke's gaze fell to the floor. She'd known his father...

"What'd you do next?" Mara inquired, finding herself uneasy at the glance the other woman gave to the blonde man beside her.

"After Vader's death, I lived at my grandfather Gilad's home on Coruscant. I didn't see him very often since he was with the Imperial military, but that was not a problem for me since I'd only had a few years of training. I took my time alone to study some Sith documents that Vader had left behind for my use, and I improved my control of the Force."

"Vader left you something?" Luke asked, feeling a pang of regret and disappointment. He'd barely known his father, but it still hurt that the closest thing to a legacy that he had received from his father was his ability to use the Force. Vader had left him nothing tangible, nothing he could hold on to in moments of despair. Luke had only the memory of his father.

"A great man," Kantasha said softly. Skywalker's chin slowly lifted up, his inner pain showing through his eyes. Empathy shined through Kantasha's, easing the hurt.

"How did you get caught up in the jail break?" Mara shattered the moment like a sledgehammer taken to a sheet of glass.

Broken out of her reverie, the dark-haired woman answered. "I found out about Grand Admiral Thrawn's use of the insane clone Joruus C'baoth, and I followed the _Chimaera_ to Myrkrr, boarding the ship with use of mind-control. I rushed to the command area where Thrawn was and demanded to see Gilad." A strange glint appeared in her eyes, and a secret smile tugged at her lips. "Thrawn was surprisingly calm, despite the fact that I had just knocked several of his men to the floor and warned his surprised Noghri bodyguard not to move. Grand Admiral Thrawn pulled me into a private room after asking me why I was there, and I told him that it was imperative that I find my grandfather and determine why he was having anything to do with an insane cloned Jedi. I was amazed by Thrawn's intellect, and we joined forces. We decided that it was likely that there would be a confrontation between you and C'baoth and that you would be the victor." It was almost as if Mara Jade weren't even in the room, which really annoyed the redhead. The glint in Kantasha's eyes had disappeared, but it was back again. "That was not the only event we foresaw. We knew that the Noghri were involved in something sinister and would rebel." She looked briefly to Parck, who nodded.

Mara and Luke exchanged a confused glance, but before they could say anything Kantasha left the room. She returned with a nutrient cage, containing a creature Luke knew far too well.

He cursed inwardly. He should have seen that one coming. How had he missed it?

"This is for all of our protection. It will insure that our plans are not jeopardized," Parck spoke. "Do not be alarmed."

"Because of the threat of Noghri rebellion, Voss Parck was placed aboard the _Chimaera_ as an extra bodyguard for Thrawn. The only one that knew of Parck's existence on the Star Destroyer besides Thrawn himself was Rukh, since he was Thrawn's true bodyguard. But even Rukh thought Parck was only an aide, although one can only assume that the Noghri had his suspicions."

"But Thrawn was killed despite your precautions," Luke pointed out.

There was a brief and strangely tense pause.

"I'm afraid that's not so, Skywalker." The Chriss leaned forward at last, his red orbs bearing down upon the Son of Vader. "_I_ am Grand Admiral Thrawn."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Many thanks to my betas Moy and Brigantia! Also, a bit of trivia: Pellaeon was one of the characters I originally considered to be Luke's cellmate. 


	13. Arguments

"I knew it! I _knew _it!" Mara spat after a frenzied swearing fit in Huttese.

"All this time..." Luke trailed off, but his blue eyes stared steadily at Thrawn.

Sensing his need for speed and eloquence, the Chiss proceeded to explain. "I needed to see if you were worthy of my trust. Oftentimes stories of Jedi were exaggerated as they passed from reality into legend. You still held loyalties for the fledgling Alliance."

This statement brought a jolt of reality into Mara Jade's system. "What?"

Smoothly, Kantasha Pellaeon answered, "He once held the Rebels in high regard, but now, I'm afraid, Red, he has realized the shortcomings of the Old Republic. It fell for a reason."

"It _fell_," Mara gritted, "because of Palpatine."

"Who saw its weaknesses," the raven-haired woman stated.

"All governments have weaknesses," returned the redhead.

"Not with proper leadership."

"With dictators, you mean," growled Mara.

Kantasha shrugged. "Whatever works."

Emerald eyes shot laser bolts out at green-speckled blue eyes which returned the assault in kind.

Luke, who was oblivious to the undercurrents of the battle, sighed. "This is not the way things were supposed to turn out."

Both females turned towards him with confused looks.

"What do you mean, Skywalker?" Mara inquired.

"You weren't supposed to come."

"You should be grateful I came and helped get your butt out of that prison and can protect you from these _Imperials_."

"You were once an Imperial yourself, Mara Jade," Thrawn said quietly, but he was ignored by the Trader.

"I would have gotten him out of that prison by myself just _fine_," Kantasha asserted.

"Now I'm going to have to figure out what to do with you," Luke stated calmly.

"What to do with—?" Mara furrowed her brow. "What we're going to do is go back to your sister and help her get the New Republic out of this mess—"

"I'm not going back to Leia."

"What?"

Luke elevated his chin slightly, clear sapphire eyes staring forward. "You heard me. This is Leia's battle. I'm about to begin one of my own."

"What the Sith are you talking about?"

"That's an interesting way to put it," Skywalker said, amused.

Mara's gaze flickered from the young man's face to Kantasha's, and then to Thrawn's. She was missing something important. Had Thrawn corrupted the infallible Jedi Master?

She hadn't believed the reports of Luke Skywalker's murdering someone, nor had she had the time to talk to him about it. The incident had sounded more like something _she _would have accidentally done, not the great Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, hero of the Rebellion. Why Luke hadn't fought against the accusation, she hadn't known for sure, putting it off to the man's lack of aggressiveness.

But maybe there was another side to Luke, a side that Thrawn had managed to tap into where Vader had failed...

Thrawn was a military genius, but was he able to look into the innermost soul of a person and bring out whatever qualities he wished to?

"What did you do to him?" Mara directed all of her malice towards Thrawn in a glare that would have made anyone but the cool Chiss flinch.

"I did nothing but free him from worrying about restraints on what he felt he should believe in," he answered.

"You made him hate his friends, you mean," Mara hissed, her anger growing by the second. She was getting annoyed by these half-truths.

"He didn't seem to harbor any ill feelings towards you when he healed your shoulder," the former Grand Admiral pointed out.

Mara subconsciously touched the said shoulder. No, he hadn't.

But she'd seen something in his eyes...Something she had only seen in one other person's eyes...

Flashbacks invaded her head, slamming against her mind like a thousand Shaaks...Memories full of pain.

She grasped at her head, trying to fight back the memories of _him_...

Soon she found herself on her knees, but Luke was quickly beside her, steadying her.

"Shh, it's okay," he whispered, pulling her to his chest and burying his face in her red mane. Somehow he knew. "He can't hurt you anymore."

* * *

"Who?" Kantasha muttered to Thrawn. 

Softly, the Chiss replied, "She sees the darkness in him..." Sensing that Pellaeon's granddaughter was not satisfied with his answer, he continued, "It reminds her of Palpatine, and that frightens her."

"We need to get _rid_ of her!" Kantasha hissed quietly.

"She could be a great asset."

"She's dangerous, and better off dead," Kantasha insisted.

"Dangerous to this operation, or dangerous to your relationship with Skywalker?" Thrawn inquired, eyes glinting.

Kantasha Pellaeon didn't reply, her gaze returning to where Mara was being comforted by Luke. She let her breath out slowly, the air hissing in her teeth.

* * *

Mara finally came to her senses, realizing that she was sobbing hysterically and being held by Skywalker. Stiffly, she pulled away, trying to compose herself. 

Luke sensed the distance she was placing between them, and, rather than trying to regain the temporary closeness they had shared, he stood, looking by all appearances to have reverted back to the frigid man that had used the Dark Side to knock obstacles out of their path on the prison planet.

"What is our current destination?" he asked smoothly.

"A planet in the Unknown Regions where we are to receive a military welcome," Thrawn answered, pinning Kantasha with what could only be described as a warning glance.

"My grandfather shall be there," the sable-haired woman spoke sourly.

Mara had stood up and walked over to Luke swiftly. "We must go back to your sister, Skywalker."

"Organa knows nothing of the problems the Republic faces."

The redhead's jaw gaped open in disbelief. "She's your _sister_, _Leia_, remember?"

Luke's eyes flashed. "I know who she is. I also know that she waited as long as she could before sending someone _else_ to get me out of prison in order to help her and her _pitiful_ Republic."

"What are you saying?" Whatever intimacy a few moments before had brought was gone. Mara also conveniently neglected to mention that she wasn't supposed to actually retrieve Luke from the prison yet.

"I am _saying_ that you know as well as I do that squabbles in the Senate are ruining the principles the Republic was laid on. _Leia_ has been doing nothing to change matters."

"She's been doing a lot more than _you_ have, Skywalker!" Mara shot.

"I'm afraid you are nothing more than a burden and a nuisance, Jade," Kantasha said. "If you try to go against our plans we will have to either sedate you...or dispose of you." The latter option was obviously preferred by her.

"I won't give you the pleasure," Mara gritted, glaring at her. "I'll find out what you've done to Skywalker, and I'll make you _pay_."

"They have done nothing to me, Mara," Luke stated. "And I think you might find it more beneficial for all of us if you retreat to the cabin and sleep off this obstinate streak."

She slapped him.

"Don't you _ever_ speak to me like that again, Skywalker. _Ever_." With that, Mara stalked off. She needed to cool down.

Kantasha's eyes bored into her back the entire way, but Mara didn't give her the satisfaction of seeing her enraged face.

* * *

**Thanks:** Thanks for betaing, Moy! 


	14. Concerns

Leia paced back and forth in her office. "I told Mara to _wait_. She wasn't supposed to break him out yet! I _told_ her to—"

Han Solo finally reached out and placed his hands on his wife's shoulders, making her stop short. "What's done is done...I only wish I'd been able to help her get the kid out."

"Han! Don't say that." Leia stared her husband in the eyes. "If either of us were away when the break-out happened, it would be obvious to _anyone_ that we were involved. As it is, we need to find out if they suspect Mara...and see if we can determine who else was with her."

She stopped to take a breath, looking pensive. "I thought she left alone...Do you think Karrde sent someone with her?" Before Han could answer, Leia continued her train of thought. "And who else was it that escaped? Security's keeping a tight lid on this. All they'll tell me is that two female humans aided Luke and another male prisoner in their escape...But I thought Mara wanted to go about it alone. Who would she have taken with—" Leia cut off as she spied something protruding from underneath the desk that had belonged to her aide, before the woman's strange disappearance. Frowning and moving aside the chair that stood in her way, she bent down and picked it up. She slowly sank onto the chair, clutching the holovid chip, as a sense of foreboding came upon her.

Leia inserted the holovid chip into the reader, and all the blood drained from her face as she stared at the screen for several moments. Han was also struck speechless.

The Imperial symbol was on the screen, spinning slowly, but purposefully. Then it went to the side for a moment, to make room for the Rebel Alliance symbol, only to let the latter symbol explode, its space taken over by the Imperial symbol once again.

After getting shakily to her feet, Leia rested her cold, clammy hand on her husband's arm. "Who would have left that here? Were we supposed to find it?" A thought occurred to Leia. "Two females assisted Luke in escaping...What if my aide had something to do with his break-out? If she was the one that left this," she removed the holovid chip from the reader and held it up, "Luke could be in big trouble."

"Now, Leia, we don't know that your aide left this, or even if she had anything to do with Luke's escape," Han attempted to calm his wife, though there was little doubt in his voice as to the likelihood that such had happened. "I think we'd better give Karrde a call."

* * *

"No, I didn't send any of my people out to help Mara. Even if she got help from some of my people, she told _me_ nothing of her venture to Du'talfrr." When Leia registered surprise at Karrde's knowing the name of the top-secret prison planet, the smuggler smiled tightly. "I know a good many things that even _you_ don't know. I have contacts in very many places, and, in fact," he sat back somewhat smugly, "I even know a little bit about the _other_ escaped prisoner."

Han leaned forward, exchanging a glance with his wife. "And?"

"He is a Chiss—" seeing no recognition in the faces of the couple, Karrde volunteered the information as he made a sort of sweeping motion with his hand, "a member of Grand Admiral Thrawn's species. In fact, my contact claims that Voss Parck was one of Thrawn's bodyguards."

"But didn't Thrawn have the Noghri for that?" Leia inquired, brow furrowing.

"You know of Thrawn's genius as well as I. Perhaps he was not fully trusting of them."

"Lot of good that did him. His bodyguard failed him in the end," Han pointed out, sitting back.

"Yes," Karrde said, pursing his lips. "So it would seem."

"I don't suppose you've managed to "borrow" any of the prison tapes?" Han ventured.

"You've not been able to look at them, Leia?" asked Karrde, raising a polite eyebrow.

The woman shook her head. "I'm the last person Security would want to volunteer information to on this matter."

Talon Karrde nodded. "I suspected as much. That's why I made sure to have this—" he held up a holovid chip, "close at hand."

"You have a holo recording?" Leia breathed a sigh of relief. "Was Mara really involved?"

Karrde nodded, "It was difficult to tell—the four made sure not to be very conspicuous to the cameras, Parck even changing his skin color, most likely with some sort of temporary solution—but I believe it was her. Hopefully, it will not be as easy to notice her involvement for those looking to point fingers, but, somehow, I don't really believe that." Han thought he could detect a hint of emotion in Talon Karrde's voice, but it was soon gone, replaced by the cool tones that Karrde seemed to embody. "It seems Skywalker and his companions gave quite the struggle. In fact, my contact was knocked unconscious by Skywalker. He was very lucky to gain access to this recording at all." Karrde's face disappeared temporarily from the communications screen as he inserted the chip into the console.

Karrde played the chip (a short one, merely showing the escapees and their rescuers in the hall having the conflict with the Gotal and other guards) for the couple twice, and both times Leia studied the screen while biting her lip nervously. The second time, Han watched her reactions. When she finally tore her gaze from the screen, Han queried, "Well?"

"I think it was her."

"Mara?" Karrde asked, confused. "Yes, I know, I told you that—"

"No, not Mara, the other woman."

This time it was Karrde that lacked information. "And who might that be?"

Leia took a deep breath, then she proceeded to explain about the disappearance of her aide, showing Karrde the image of the Imperial symbol overtaking the Rebel symbol.

"It seems Skywalker is going to have to watch his back...However, I imagine that even Parck and your aide will find it hard to hold both Jade and Skywalker for long. As Force-users, they would certainly be formidable apart, but together, surely they would be nearly unstoppable."

Han heard the underlying doubt in Karrde's voice, and he also noted, in the back of his mind, that Karrde was distancing himself from Mara by the use of her last name. "Why do I not believe you?"

Talon Karrde looked uncomfortable. "I didn't want to tell you this, but I am afraid there's no avoiding it. The first thing to take into account is that Skywalker _was_ jailed with a member of Thrawn's species, and, while I am not ignorant enough to believe that _all_ Chiss have Thrawn's genius, I am sure that for Thrawn to choose a Chiss to be his bodyguard, the Chiss would not be completely lacking in knowledge of how to manipulate others. What I have heard from my contact on Du'talfrr is enough to support that: many of Parck's cellmates went insane after only a short while with him. While Skywalker might be strong enough to escape such a fate, Parck would likely see an incredible opportunity in front of him: to cause the betrayal of one of the Republic's heroes. If Skywalker willingly escaped _with_ him..."

"Luke would never betray the Republic!" Leia exclaimed. "He probably joined with Parck just temporarily, or perhaps Parck had a change of heart."

"I hope you're right," Karrde said softly, repeating the sentence again in his mind: _I hope you're right._

* * *

Meanwhile, Mara was still off in the back of the ship simmering when Luke slipped into the seat behind Kantasha Pellaeon, who was in the pilot's chair. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but Thrawn, in the copilot's position, stood. "We are to change into more proper attire. Follow me." 

The Chiss led the pair into a storage room where he pulled down four uniforms. Thrawn's, Luke noted, only had a captain's insignia on it. Thrawn handed one uniform to Kantasha, then two to Luke. "The smaller is for Ms. Jade, if she is willing to wear it." After a brief, calculated pause, Thrawn spoke again, "I am to be known as Mitth Nuruodo—" at this his eyes glinted amusedly, though Luke did not know the reason, "for the time being. You would do well to pass that on to Ms. Jade, Skywalker. I plan to keep my true existence a secret for a while, save from those on the ship and Admiral Pellaeon, for I am not sure that startled cadets would be willing to keep eager mouths closed." He then picked up a box whose contents Luke was unsure of, and he left the room.

Luke placed Mara's uniform back on the shelf, figuring that it wasn't the right time to ask the angry redhead to don Imperial clothing. He was picking awkwardly at the arm of his prison guard uniform when he noticed that Kantasha was unabashedly undressing, seemingly not noticing him.

Blushing furiously as the farmboy within him came to the surface, Luke turned around and stared at the wall.

After a few moments, Kantasha spoke, "Aren't you going to change?" Taking one look at his averted eyes, she nodded in sudden understanding, her own eyes glinting. "Farmboy modesty, I'm guessing. Well, if you need me, I'll be in the cockpit."

She started to leave, but Luke called after her. "Wait..."

"Yes?" Kantasha tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear as she waited for Luke to speak.

"How did I get put into the same cell as Thrawn?"

"The Force has many uses," the female Pellaeon answered, "including the manipulation of minds. Before the ysalamiri were in place on the prison planet, I managed to twist a few minds to get you and Thrawn put in the same cell."

She thought for a moment before seeming to make a decision. "The Force, however, isn't always required to manipulate minds; there's a part of the story that Thrawn and I didn't get to. In the case of Thrawn's Noghri bodyguard, before you and Thrawn were jailed and the "Thrawn fiasco" was "over," we opted for a more simple method of manipulation. Knowing that even the loyal Noghri would eventually falter, Thrawn began to wear a cologne that was undetectable by human noses, though Rukh, his Noghri bodyguard, would be able to pick it up. On the day Thrawn left the _Chimaera_ incognito, he switched colognes with Voss Parck, also giving him detailed instructions about the battle over Bilbringi, and after Rukh, playing the part of the traitorous Noghri we knew he was, killed Parck, Thrawn had his corpse destroyed, leaving no loose ends. But Thrawn was even wiser than that, and had his and Parck's records switched so that without insignia, Thrawn would automatically be Parck.

"Thrawn knew that he did not have enough resources at hand to truly destroy the Rebellion, tactician though he was, and he even planned to be picked up by the Rebels undercover as Voss Parck, Thrawn's bodyguard. In prison he would wait, while I carried out our plans and slowly built back up the Imperial fleet. I had already managed to hijack a cargo ship, one of the standard ships that brought supplies to and from the prison planet, and so it was decided that I would go to Du'talfrr, manipulate a few minds—that cursed Gotal was not on the planet at the time, so that was one problem I didn't have to deal with—and converse with Thrawn about current Imperial plans.

"I managed to find a position as your sister's aide, which provided me with a lot of information concerning the Republic's dealings. When I learned of your trial, and of how those that you have given so much would drop you in a prison so quickly, _that_ was when I found quick manipulation of minds with the Force necessary, before the ysalamiri were put into place on Du'talfrr, and, incidentally, the Gotal. Finally, Imperial ships were once more a force to be reckoned with, though the ships were rather spread apart, and some Imperial ships began to come out of hiding and attack the Republic forces in strategic hit-and-runs. When the time was right, I slipped away in my hijacked cargo ship and headed for Du'talfrr."

Kantasha paused. "I don't know how Jade managed to get on planet, but she arrived before I did and got to your room without a hassle. I suspect it was she that started the food fight among the lower security prisoners, providing the distraction she needed to get to your room." She was practically scowling at the thought of the other woman. "Don't forget to offer her the uniform," she said, before disappearing out the door (and throwing a venomous glare towards the general direction in which Mara was).

"Yes," Luke murmured to himself, looking over at where Mara's uniform lay on the shelf. "The uniform..."

Thrawn really had thought of everything, hadn't he?

* * *

When Threepio finally entered Leia's office it was to the sight of a very grim couple. "I'm just glad we sent the kids to Kashyyyk with Chewie," Leia was saying. "They just kept bombarding me with questions about their uncle, and I just didn't know what to—"

"Pardon me, Mistress Leia," See-Threepio ventured. "My assistance in translation is no longer required by the Filarn delegation, and I am afraid that I am quite concerned for Artoo. Ever since Master Luke—" but even Threepio did not wish to go there, and he gave a very humanlike impression of fumbling over the name, "well, Artoo has locked himself into Master Luke's apartment and refuses to answer any calls on Master Luke's comm unit. If you would give me permission..."

"Sure, Threepio, you can go over there and talk to him," Han said. Inside, he told himself he was not feeling sorry for Goldenrod; he merely wanted to get rid of him. Leia knew the truth, however, and she squeezed her husband's shoulder in understanding. She'd been so caught up in other matters that even _she_ had forgotten about Artoo. But it would be difficult for Threepio to ever forget his astromech friend.

Threepio hurried over to Luke's apartment (for even after Luke was imprisoned Leia could not simply give it up), and, though Artoo would not open the door, the protocol droid went inside anyway after punching in the code. Artoo had not bothered to change it yet.

"Artoo, I know you are—" Threepio stopped when he saw Artoo coming towards him with an extended arc-welder, giving a frightening mechanical impression of a growl. "Goodness gracious me! Artoo, put that thing away before you hurt someone! I have _news_ for you."

Artoo slowed but kept the arc-welder in position. He beeped once.

"Well, there is no need to be short with me! If you had not been holed up in here pouting, you might have learned that Master Luke has escaped!"

The arc-welder disappeared. A flurry of whistles came from the domed R2-unit.

Threepio shook his head, "No, I do not know where he escaped to, or who he escaped with—" The golden droid paused after hearing Artoo beep excitedly. "What? You think you know? How would _you _know? You're just an overgrown, greasy pile of bolts and—"

Artoo made a rather rude raspberry, then tootled.

"Mistress Mara? Dear me, I do hope you are wrong! She wanted to kill him at one time, I'll have you know, and—" a gurgle from the astromech unit caused the protocol droid to stop short. "Something between them? What do you mean? I do hope you haven't been watching holovision again, it _does_ put some strange ideas in your head."

Artoo buzzed an inquiry.

"Yes, I imagine Mistress Leia and Master Han know a lot more than I have been told. I just don't understand humans sometimes, what with their obsession with secrets and all. Perhaps if we go ask, they might be so kind as to—" but Artoo was already out the door. "Wait for me, you mottled collection of screws and tin!" Threepio cried, rushing out into the hallway. The door whizzed shut.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Thanks for betaing, Moy! 


	15. Explanations and Arrival

When Luke finally ventured out of the storage room to find Mara, he did so very tentatively. An angry Mara, somewhat reminiscent of a ravaging Krayt dragon during mating season, was not something he felt like handling. Nevertheless, he would not delay the inevitable any longer.

When he walked through the door into the room where the fierce redhead was, it was with an open mouth: "Mara—"

—He barely managed to duck the hydrospanner thrown at him.

"You're lucky I don't blast you right here and now," she said in a deadly quiet voice, fingering her blaster.

"And you're lucky I don't throw you out the airlock," he retorted. "Seems like we're a fortunate bunch. Now, if we can dispense with the threats, I have a uniform that you are to put on if you don't want to get yourself killed." Luke threw the uniform at Mara, who caught it and shot him a glare that could melt durasteel.

"Ah, yes, I forgot, you're an _Imperial_ now," Mara scoffed.

"You're the only person I know who can make any word sound like an insult."

Mara gave a grim smile, "Yeah, well, I know one person you know who isn't being truly honest with you."

Luke raised an eyebrow in amusement. "And who might that be?"

"Well, it seems your buddy Thrawn neglected to tell you a few things about Mr. Voss Parck," the redhead began smugly. "He wasn't just some Chiss bodyguard Thrawn _happened_ to employ. He was a _human _Victory Star Destroyer captain whose records seem to have been erased from most databanks." Mara paused. "You see, years ago, Thrawn picked the wrong side in one of the many political battles in the Imperial court, and he lost. The others were either imprisoned or demoted or reassigned to a torture cell such as garrison duty in the Outer Rim Territories...But Thrawn, oh, Thrawn was _different_.

"Even the hellish Outer Rim was far too good for him, an ungrateful alien that had been accepted into Imperial society and paid back that acceptance with a slap in the face. They had to come up with something special for him, and that just so happened to be exile to the Unknown Regions. As if the Outer Rim weren't bad enough...Being exiled to the Unknown Regions was like being placed in a fully populated rancor pit." Her lip quirked. "Without any helpful skulls lying around to throw at control panels...

"The winners of the political battle persuaded the Emperor to place Thrawn on a Star Destroyer, and, to add insult to injury, they got Palpatine to make it a mapping expedition. Think about it, Skywalker, one of the best strategists in the Empire, forced to lead a _mapping_ expedition. Both his life and his reputation were easily ruined in one swift stroke. I imagine those in Palpatine's court were still laughing about it years later,...but the thought never crossed their minds that the Emperor and Thrawn were steps ahead of what was happening in the Emperor's court. Both of them had the whole thing planned out from the beginning. Parck was the Star Destroyer captain that happened to find Thrawn on a deserted world and bring him to the Imperial court, joining him in his shame and supposed exile from the Empire." Mara shifted her gaze away from Luke, resting it slightly behind him. "Of course, I imagine there's more to the story, now, isn't there?"

Luke looked over his shoulder, only to jump a few centimeters, cursing the ysalamiri, when he realized that Thrawn was behind him. Or, at least, he _thought_ it was Thrawn.

The Chiss' blue-black hair had been dyed brown, his skin was a darker tan than the solution he had used on the prison planet had made it, and his red eyes were now brown. In other words, he was exactly the sort of person who could fade into a crowd,...that is, if it weren't for the aura of power that surrounded him.

In the back of his mind, Luke noted that this change was probably made with the aid of the box that Thrawn had removed from the storage room earlier.

"Yes, Ms. Jade, there is more, though it seems you certainly did learn a fair amount about my past during your time with the Emperor. When you were working against the Empire, I'm afraid I made the mistake of underestimating you, as evidenced by your rescue of Talon Karrde from the _Chimaera_. I made an error in judging you after our first meeting, which I trust will never happen again. Ah, but I digress." His brown eyes glinted. "The rest of the story is what you wanted, isn't it? Very well. First off, you were right in that Voss Parck was not a Chiss. With proper cosmetics, however, not even Rukh was able to tell the difference...Ah, what else? ...Yes, my so-called "mapping expedition" was indeed not such. Instead, I opened up a great deal of territory in the name of the Empire, and Emperor Palpatine sent me many ships and troops as I did so. While there are only a few true shipyards—and only a few actual Imperial colonies—in the Unknown Regions, there is a network of alliances with the natives, some intelligence centers, and a few listening posts. All of which will contribute to the Empire I have been building. Now that I've quenched your curiosity, perhaps you would like to satisfy mine, Ms. Jade; how _did_ you manage to land on the prison planet?" Thrawn cocked an eyebrow.

Mara gave him a forced smile. "Some of Karrde's people sometimes make supply runs there; I merely caught a ride on one of the cargo ships, substituting for someone who contracted a mysterious illness that comes about when someone points a blaster at your head."

"You threatened one of Karrde's own people?" Luke sounded skeptical, but amused.

"He didn't take it personally. I told him it was important, he valued his life...and, incidentally, he still gets paid though he's staying home. A worthwhile arrangement for him."

"Indeed. I trust Skywalker has not had the opportunity to inform you of my new alias?" Thrawn inquired.

Mara groaned. "Another one? What this time?"

Watching her carefully, Thrawn spoke quietly, "Mitth Nuruodo."

The flicker was there. "Of course," the redhead growled, "ever the sly one."

Luke sported a confused look. "What?"

"What you know is my core name: Thrawn," the cool Chiss said. "What Ms. Jade knows is my true name."

The name hissed through Mara's teeth, "Mitth'raw'nuruodo."

"Your fiery redhead friend knows many more intimate details about the Empire than you might suspect, Skywalker. Never underestimate her."

"I'd like it if you didn't talk about me as if I'm not here," the woman snarled.

Thrawn inclined his head, "Many apologies, Ms. Jade."

Mara was poised to shoot back a sarcastic remark and faltered when the Chiss did not give her the opening she was looking for. Throwing a glare at both males, she said something unintelligible under her breath, storming out of the room.

"A wild kelpie, that one," Thrawn muttered under his breath.

Luke thought about asking, but didn't. Whatever a kelpie was, he was sure he had to agree.

* * *

Mara Jade, feeling the need to vent some anger on someone, found a target easily in Kantasha Pellaeon, who was no longer in the cockpit, though she was sitting down and looking just as frustrated as Mara felt.

"What's with your obsession with Skywalker?" Mara growled. Now that they were alone, she was finally able to voice the question that had been pestering her.

"Sounds like you're the one with the obsession," the dark haired woman parried.

"I just don't want to see him get hurt," the redhead spat, but some of the venom was gone from her voice.

"This coming from the woman who lashes out at him frequently."

"He's a good guy, too noble for his own good," Mara persisted.

While Kantasha worked on her fingernails with a nail file—_Where did that come from_? Mara thought—, she answered, "Sounds like he needs a good girl to take care of him."

"Hah! You?" Mara laughed bitterly.

"I certainly don't see any other good girls around here, do you?"

Mara slitted your eyes. "You better watch out or you won't be seeing _any_ good girls around here."

"Is that a threat, Mara Jade?" Kantasha's green-flecked blue eyes glinted amusedly.

"It's a promise," the trader said quietly.

"Why, you couldn't shoot a bantha with your eyes _open_."

"And you couldn't make a Jawa baby cry," Mara returned. "Unless you showed him your face."

Kantasha shot to her feet. "Are you challenging me?"

"Only if you're woman enough to answer it."

* * *

Thrawn instructed Luke to alert the others that they would soon be dropping out of hyperspace and needed to strap in. When he went to the two females to tell them to do so, he sensed something hostile in their manners, but he didn't inquire as to the origin. He wouldn't even _attempt_ to understand the inner workings of female minds.

The landing process went smoothly, without any spats and with minimal talking. When asked them to identify themselves, Thrawn replied smoothly on the comm, "This is Captain Mitth Nuruodo of the freighter _Elusive Phoenix_, requesting permission to land."

After a few moments, the reply came, "Request granted."

As Thrawn had said, a military welcome _was_ in order, albeit a small one. After all, someone with the mere insignia of "captain" should not be given too enthusiastic of a greeting. Stormtroopers stood at attention, loyal and obedient even if they may have had several suspicions as to this being more than an uneventful meeting.

A military man, who looked to be in perhaps his early seventies, came to the bottom of the ramp to meet them. As he came closer, Luke saw that his insignia labeled him an Imperial admiral.

Luke threw a sideways glance at Mara, noticing, almost predictably, that she was in one of the most unmilitarylike postures she was capable of. Through the Force he threw, _Watch your posture!_

Sending him back a scowl with the Force, the redhead straightened, promising, _You'll pay for this someday, Skywalker._

"Welcome back, Captain Nuruodo," the man greeted. His eyes, blocked from the view of the Stormtroopers, flicked briefly to Luke's, then Mara's, then Kantasha's, where they lingered a bit longer, then they finally moved back to Thrawn's. Maintaining his loud voice, he continued, "I trust your mission went well?"

The aura of power that normally surrounded Thrawn was mostly gone, but, to Luke, just a tendril of the Force would prove that it was still there, only hidden. And Thrawn's appearance was decidedly unChisslike. "Yes, Admiral." He gazed inconspicuously down the rows of Stormtroopers towards the long and impressive Imperial base. Luke thought he could detect the hint of approval in Thrawn's eyes. Not that Luke blamed him. If there were indeed more of these Imperial bases scattered throughout the Unknown Regions, the Empire would once more be a force to be reckoned with.

"Good." The admiral, whom Luke suspected was Pellaeon, inclined his head. "If you will follow me."

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Thanks for betaing, Moy!

My words about Thrawn and Parck aren't too far off Zahn's, but I figure Mara would probably tell it in a similar manner both times. I have done a little paraphrasing and a small bit of condensing—I don't want you to think Zahn's words are mine, so just pretend that from "Well, it seems your buddy Thrawn..." to "...joining him in his shame and supposed exile from the Empire" are Zahn's words (they aren't exact; he's more talented, and I didn't want to take them _exactly_ from his book). Also, what Thrawn says in the large paragraph after Mara is gleaned from Mara's words in Vision of the Future, but I don't believe it was done as closely.


	16. Admiral Talks

**Author's Notes:** Moy, you are spectacular!

* * *

The admiral led them to a conference room and then instructed their Stormtrooper escort to wait outside the door. Afterwards, he spoke, "I just had this room swept for spying devices, and it is clean. I must say, I am pleased to see you again, Admiral Thrawn."

"As am I to see you," the Chiss returned.

"Grandfather," Kantasha nodded towards him in greeting.

"Kantasha." A small smile graced the admiral's lips as he looked at his granddaughter. "I am glad to see you are well." The man's gaze flickered only briefly, but Thrawn saw the motion and interpreted it correctly.

"Skywalker has realized the futility of keeping a galaxywide Republic together," the Chiss said, his calm gaze resting on the fair headed human. "He is ready to aid us in uniting the galaxy's systems together under the Empire once and for all...He is our ally. Are you not, Skywalker?"

"I am," Skywalker replied quietly. His face was passive, his eyes clear. But something about his expression changed when he turned to look at Mara Jade (the one whose Pellaeon's attention was now on), though it was a subtle change.

Staring into the woman's flashing emerald eyes as if daring her to make the outburst he knew she was trying to hold back, Skywalker said, "Because Mara Jade may not be entirely supportive, I shall personally ensure that she does not hinder our operations."

* * *

Mara stared at Luke. _Hinder our—?_

What in space did Skywalker think he was doing? Was this even _him_? Had Thrawn switched him for a clone when she wasn't looking?

'Hinder our operations,' indeed, Mara scoffed inwardly. The blasted Jedi was just trying to sound cool in front of his new friends. She winced at that simplification.

These were _not_ Skywalker's new friends, no matter _what_ he wanted to think. They would stick vibroblades into his back the moment it was turned. They'd use him, then throw him away.

"You can't even personally ensure that your laundry's been cleaned, much less keep an eye on a person other than yourself," Mara bit out, pleased to notice the slight flush on Skywalker's face.

"Watch yourself, Jade, or you might find yourself unpleasantly hidden away."

So now, she was 'Jade' to him, huh?

Mara scowled when she looked over at Kantasha Pellaeon and saw the look of smug satisfaction on her face. Minus one point for Mara. She'd have to remedy that soon enough, but she couldn't do it right now. She had a reputation to keep. "Whatever you'll do to me can't be nearly as bad as the things I'm contemplating actually _doing_ to you, Skywalker."

"I'm quivering with fear."

"You should be," Mara grumbled.

Thrawn cleared his throat. "As intriguing as this conversation is, I'm afraid we have a Republic we need to eliminate."

Kantasha smiled sweetly, as Mara gave her a death glare. "I'll escort Jade to her _quarters,_" Kantasha said with an evil laugh.

Thrawn nodded. "You know where she is to go."

With a hiss of "I'll get you yet, Skywalker!" and a flash of red-gold hair, Mara Jade was gone, followed swiftly by a perturbed sable haired pursuer.

* * *

Pellaeon looked to Skywalker, then to Thrawn, expecting to be dismissed. He felt a brief pang at the thought that his place as Thrawn's protegé was to be taken by Skywalker, a one-time enemy of Thrawn's, but if that was what it took for the Empire to rise once again, he was willing to let it be so.

Thrawn, however, did not show any sign that he wished for Pellaeon to leave. In fact, he began to address him, asking him more about the current situation with the Rebellion, and letting both him and Skywalker throw forth a few ideas. Pellaeon suppressed a look of wonder. He should have known that Thrawn would not just toss him aside. Thrawn cared for his men, and his decisions were always carefully made. When he chose to take Pellaeon under his wing, it was not just temporarily.

Pellaeon found that his opinion of Thrawn had just gone up a notch, something he had thought impossible. Well, it just went to show that Thrawn was always full of surprises. Pellaeon could not help but wonder what the cool alien had up his sleeves this time.

* * *

"Looks like you and Luke are having a few—"

"Shut up," Mara cut Kantasha off.

The dark haired woman smirked. "Seems like your smart mouth has just lost the challenge for you. It will be hard for you to win if you're going to be stuck in a cell the whole time."

"I'll find—" Mara cut off. "Wait a minute, a _cell_?"

"Yes," Kantasha confirmed, eyes dancing. "You can't expect us to let a dissenter run about freely." She let loose a loud mock-sigh. "Oh, well. I guess I'll just get Luke all to myself..."

"You keep your grimy claws off him!" Mara growled. "No matter what front he puts up, he's greener than Endor, and I will _not_ have you—"

"You seem to have forgotten something," Kantasha interrupted. "You are going to be stuck into a cell thanks to your omnipresent stupidity, and there's no way you're going to find yourself in a position to restrain me from doing anything I want." She smiled sweetly. "I hope you like prison food."

Mara lunged at her, but the granddaughter of Pellaeon disappeared out of the cell, her dark laughter ringing down the hall. Mara clenched her fists. Oh, she would find a way to get out. There was no doubt about that.

* * *

Pellaeon smiled. This strategy was particularly intriguing. He had no doubt that its deviousness would indeed cause the upheaval of the so-called New Republic. He might have had doubts during his previous time with Thrawn, doubts which always proved fruitless, but as on edge as the diplomats on Coruscant were, there was no way this plan could fail.

They were already preparing to set the plan in motion. Pellaeon was to remain at the Imperial base, while his granddaughter went with Thrawn, Skywalker, and Jade...elsewhere.

Gilad Pellaeon did not quite approve of their taking the vicious redhead with them, but he could sense the truth in Thrawn's argument that she would probably manage to escape if imprisoned on planet since she was determined to keep an eye on Skywalker.

So Pellaeon was willing to let them have it their way without complaint from him, but he would keep an ear and eye out anyway. There was nothing wrong in being overly cautious.


	17. Caged Spirit

"Skywalker, you let me out of here right now!" Mara shouted, banging on the door.

"What? Don't enjoy being caged like the beast you are?" Kantasha shot.

Mara glared at the door to her "prison." She could not believe that they had her locked in this cramped room on board this cramped ship. She could _almost_, _almost_ understand their locking her up on the Imperial base, where she just _might_ be able to escape, but what did they think she would do here? Slice the throats of the two Force-users after stealing their weapons and then outwit what was possibly the smartest being in the universe?

_Ammo, Jade, ammo,_ Mara thought to herself. "Hey, Skywalker, remember that time you got drunk and began to give a pretty good impression of a male str—"

"I thought we agreed that would never again be discussed," Luke hissed, cutting her off, his eyes blazing as he stared at the door to her "cell."

"You've gone traitor on me. All bets are off."

The man's blue eyes began to gleam, "So that includes the time _you_ got so drunk you pledged your undying love to Lando and—"

"Shut the Sith up!" Mara growled, glaring at the door.

His taunting laughter rang clearly through the walls. Kantasha soon joined him, adding an even darker note to the sound.

"One of these days," Mara Jade muttered to herself, "I'm going to kill you, Skywalker. But that will only be after I've ripped out what's left of _her_ heart and stomped on it."

On the other side of the door, Kantasha purred loud enough for Mara to hear, "So, will I ever be able to see this impression of yours, Luke?"

"Maybe some day," came the reply.

Mara gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to take off her shoes and throw them at the door. "I'm going to—" she cut off as the door opened, and in stepped a being with a very cool countenance.

"You'll what, Ms. Jade?"

"Nothing," Mara muttered.

"I apologize if our two Force-using companions have been less than polite company. I am afraid they are rather on edge about our upcoming operations, having not attempted anything quite like it before."

"Quite like what?" Mara inquired off-handedly, hoping that maybe she would at last get some information.

But Thrawn disappointed her. "Ah, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. You'll learn of our plans soon enough. Indeed, the entirely galaxy will find out soon enough. But by then, it will be too late, and the irreversible collapse of the Rebellion will have already been initiated."

"What, so you've just come in here to gloat?" Mara snapped, growing irritable.

"Now, Ms. Jade, surely your opinion of me is not that low. Gloating is for pirates and traitors."

She ignored his last word, for she knew he was referring to members of the New Rebellion—Republic, she corrected herself. _Stang, now he's got me doing it_, she thought to herself. Aloud, she asked, "Then what do you want?"

"I wish to ask for your aid once more...You would be a powerful ally. I remember your duties in the height of the Empire's power. You may have been a shadow agent, but you did your job better than many Imperial Moffs ever did theirs. Remember the position you held, Ms. Jade. Remember the Empire's glory days, when the Senate was finally dissipated. No more squabbling Senators, no more territorial disputes—the Emperor took care of all that. There was profitable trade between unified systems. Quarrels between species or systems could not tear the government apart—Emperor Palpatine would not allow it. You were his Hand, Mara Jade. Do you not remember?" The Chiss almost seemed to be entreating her to remember.

Yes, she remembered.

She had performed Palpatine's bidding, completing missions using all that was available to her: her dancer's skills, her stealth, her skill with weapons, her ability to read people, Palpatine's vast resources...She had been able hear that man's voice halfway across the galaxy, and she had performed duties that helped keep his government running smoothly.

She had been the Emperor's Hand. In some ways, the power she had held was greater than that of Vader's, for she had one thing he did not: Palpatine's trust.

She could be the Emperor's Hand again. She could be Luke's.

_She looked up into her master's chilling blue eyes. A small, barely perceptible smile creased his face, and he brought his hand up slowly and caressed her face possessively. "You have done well, my Hand," he said softly._

"_Thank you, Master."_

His black hood fell back, revealing what had once been kind young features, now hardened by the years and the Dark Side. He pulled her head towards him, engulfing her mouth with his, kissing her with a dark passion, his probing tongue forceful, abusive, rapacious.

Gasping, Mara pulled away from the vision, snapping out of the spell Thrawn had put her under. Her vision was what would happen to her and Luke if she gave in to Thrawn. Whatever the cost, she would _never _let that happen, even if she had to kill both Luke and herself.

"You don't understand the cost of the darkness you want to bring upon us all," she whispered.

Thrawn gave an almost bitter smile. "What you do not understand Ms. Jade, is that there is no darkness at all. We are all enshrouded in a veil of gray which we cannot penetrate. Neither the overly optimistic nor the overly pessimistic can see this as it is. They see light or darkness, but they do not see the truth: neither exists, and yet both exist." He tilted his head towards the door. "I do sincerely hope that you will reconsider aiding us, Ms. Jade."

Mara stared at the door long after his departure. What was it about this man, this _Chiss_, that enabled him to turn a person's whole world upside down, to make a person's rock-solid ideals melt like ice under the sun?


	18. More conflict

The ship pinged. They were about to drop out of hyperspace.

"Are you prepared for what lies ahead of us, Skywalker?" Thrawn asked quietly. "It is somewhat unorthodox compared to what you have done in the past."

"I am always up for new things," Luke Skywalker returned somewhat absent-mindedly from staring into oblivion. "Always..."

Soon, they were out of hyperspace, looking down upon a planet that was familiar to all three of them.

The fair-headed young man began to quote an old text softly, as if to himself, "And so shall the end or the beginning be determined. Death may come and rejoice his hindering of changes, or Life may rejoice at her unhindered changes to come. What shall come...shall come."

Thrawn allowed himself a tight smile. It seemed to be fitting.

Clearance was granted quickly. After all, there was no reason for any suspicion towards their freighter, and even though Imperial activity had increased, the New Republic's security had not changed very much. And so they descended upon Coruscant.

* * *

"It's about kriffin' time you let me out of there," Mara swore, glaring daggers at Luke Skywalker, who just gazed at her expressionlessly. _That blasted Jedi goes through more mood swings than a Hutt goes through bounty hunters, _Mara snarled to herself.

He didn't venture to reply. Instead, he watched her for a few more moments before disappearing in the direction of the cockpit.

"I hate Jedi," Mara gritted, before she reluctantly turned and followed him.

* * *

"Nice place ya got here," Mara said sarcastically as she looked around one of the adjoined rooms that they were staying in for an indefinite period of time. "Why didn't we just all go and bunk at Skywalker's place? I'm sure there won't be too many bugs crawling all over there beds there. Oh, right, I forgot, we're here incognito so that we can take down the g—" Mara cut off as she felt her throat constricting. She glared at Luke, whose hand was outstretched and quivering in anger and frustration.

As Luke mentally cursed Mara, he also sent a brief blessing skyward that he hadn't brought the ysalamiri in with him, since otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stop Mara from foolishly shooting off her mouth. Reaching out to the Force, he told her angrily, _We have not swept the room for listening devices yet. Keep talking and we'll have the multitudes on us in minutes._

Kantasha, who was just as angry if not more, and who had been eavesdropping on their Force conversation, couldn't help but add: _Yeah, but they won't get to you before my blaster does._

Luke threw a somewhat annoyed look at Kantasha. _Just don't do anything stupid, all right, Mara?_ He almost seemed to be pleading.

Thrawn stood quietly through the whole exchange, but finally he decided it was time to end it. "These quarters will do," he said simply. He walked forward and began systematically disabling the multiple spying devices.

Throwing an evil look at Mara, Kantasha began doing the same.

Mara glared at them the entire time, and when their rooms were completely spy-free, she spoke, "So what are you going to do now?"

"For now," answered Thrawn, "we shall wait."

"Great," Mara said, a sarcastic and somewhat bitter smile on her face, "three perturbed Force users and the galaxy's most brilliant mastermind, all four in the same confined space. Complete with hormones and government upheaval schemes. What more could a girl ask for?"

* * *

A few minutes later, as she stared at the closed door in front of her, Mara was wanting to bite her tongue. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind," she spat. But she was ignored.

She allowed herself a grim smile, and she began to look around the room. They had done a good job of securing her in the room, but they had to have made some mistake somewhere down the line.

Kantasha had gone to fetch the ysalamiri, and Luke was quietly talking with Thrawn. With all luck, Mara would have a few minutes.

She set up a strong mental block, courtesy of her years in Palpatine's service, then set to work.

They'd removed the comm unit and placed Kantasha's twisted idea of a lock upon the door. Without any equipment, Mara wouldn't be able to get past it in time.

She glared at the wall. They were in one of the seedier parts of Coruscant and were thus without windows. That removed that possibility.

"Sith," she cursed quietly. If this was the Imperial Palace, she could probably get out of the room in a flash. As it was, with the little time allotted to her in such unfamiliar surroundings, there was only one thing she could do. And she was gonna catch a lot of heat for it.

Mara Jade took a deep breath, trying to will herself to be inconspicuous, then she began to gather the Force to her. She wouldn't have very much time.

She prayed that Leia Organa Solo was presently in the general direction of her apartment, and then she began to reach out as swiftly as she could through the Force to her: _Leia, we're—_

_Leia, we're—_

* * *

Leia shot up as she tried to reach out in vain for that connection, gasping when her Force sense caught only whispers of the presence. 

"What is it, Leia?" Han inquired, staring at her with a concerned face.

"Mara reached out to me..." She bit her lip in concentration, still searching for Mara's presence. "I think she's on Coruscant..."

"What did she say? Has she seen Luke? Were they being held prisoner?" Han bombarded his wife with questions.

She held up a hand. "She seemed more annoyed than scared...I think she might be with Luke, but...something just doesn't feel right."

Han frowned. He'd been with Leia long enough not to doubt her tuition. He kept quiet, hoping she might say more.

"She was cut off by what felt like...like a sort of sinister, but familiar presence...I don't..." Leia trailed off, her eyes closed as she tried to regain the connection and failed.

"I'm gonna call Karrde," Han stated, getting off the couch.

* * *

Mara's eyes flared as she glared at the door and clawed at her throat. As soon as she'd started to call out to his sister, Luke had sensed it, and he had managed to get a Force choke-hold grip on her even though he was in the other room. He maintained it long enough for him to unlock her door and go into her room.

His blue eyes were as ice, and his nostrils flared with barely restrained rage. His jaw worked angrily, and at last he spoke, tightening his Force hold somewhat. "Do not try my patience, _Jade._ I have had enough of your _insolence_." With this last accented word, he released his hold on Mara.

She gasped for air, looking angrily at him, and finally she spat at his face.

He slapped her.

Stunned, she stared at him.

"Don't you _ever_, _ever_ pull that stunt again," Skywalker warned, a harsh warning in his cold blue eyes, "or I shall do things to you that are so terrible that even Kantasha would not dream of them."

With that, he left, leaving Mara staring incredulously after him.

The blasted Jedi was like a ping-pong ball...One that she was going to slap into next week if he didn't start pulling his act together.

Mara sighed in frustration. This was just the kind of situation she didn't like to be put in. She was so upset with how he was acting that she wasn't able to give him the kind of friendly support that he probably needed most at this stage, and as such, he would just continue to get even more vicious as she continued to lash out even more at him. But she couldn't blame him. Even for slapping her.

Curse Thrawn. And curse Skywalker for getting himself into this mess. And curse the whole blasted universe for being so krething messed up.

Fuming, Mara clenched her fists. Suddenly, she felt a sort of heavy blanket come down over her Force sense. Skywalker was stopping her from using the Force!

She tried in vain to dispel the cloak about her. _Curse Skywalker!_

* * *

When the expression of astonishment had appeared on Skywalker's face and was followed quickly by anger, Thrawn had at first been alarmed. The look of concentration that appeared on the faces of Jedi when they were accessing the Force came upon Luke Skywalker's face, and as his eyes had been focused in the direction of Mara Jade's room, Thrawn had quickly guessed that whatever was happening had something to do with Mara. The Jedi had then quickly strode over to Mara's room, leaving Thrawn alone to await his return. When he did, it was with an expression so sour that the Chiss wondered whether it would be wise to ask him what had happened or wait until a better time. 

The perturbed Force user told Thrawn soon enough, leaving him to ponder just how much Mara's short message had been able to reveal.

* * *

The Solo's door opened to reveal a shining golden protocol droid with a blue astromech unit at its side. "Captain Karrde, I must say I am glad you decided to come over here in person. It seems humans think much better when—"

"Yes, Threepio," Karrde said, cutting the droid smoothly off. Artoo whistled something derogatory-sounding toward his golden friend.

"Artoo!" See-Threepio exclaimed. "Behave yourself! We have company. Please come in, Captain Karrde," the droid said, motioning towards the living room.

The information dealer wearily complied.

Watching him, Threepio said softly to Artoo, "I do believe he has not been getting enough sleep lately."

Artoo blatted something that sounded suspiciously like, 'Naw, ya think?'

"Karrde, I'm glad you came," Leia said, still sitting on the couch. Her face looked strangely strained, and she seemed somewhat weak.

Han, however, had stood, but only long enough to point Karrde towards a seat before he sat back down.

"Mara contacted me," Leia said bluntly.

"Really?" Karrde said, a light jumping into his eyes. "Where? How?"

"She reached out to me through the Force, and I think she tried to tell me where they were, but she got cut off by someone. I think she's on Coruscant."

"So she didn't really get to tell you anything?" Talon Karrde asked.

Leia shook her head. "No."

Karrde hesitated, then he asked, "Have you found out anything about Skywalker?"

"We think Mara might be with him, but we're not sure," Han answered. "The fact that Mara and Luke haven't managed to make their way back here tells us that something's definitely up."

"I can't argue with you there, Solo," the smuggler said quietly. "I can't argue with you there..."


	19. Key Dramatic Music & Cries of Outrage

Mara hated the Force.

She hated the Force, she hated ysalamiri, she hated Jedi, she hated Skywalker, and she hated anything to do with any of them! But, most of all, she hated Skywalker.

The man went on a galaxy-saving binge, removing every evil-doer in sight, and then he suddenly turned around and became one of those he had been saving everybody from. The blasted man was a mottled compilation of _everything_. He was naive, he was all-knowing, he was kind, he was a jerk, he was pure, he was evil, he was a farmboy, he was a pilot, he was a Jedi, he was nearly a Sith, he was a Republic-supporter, he was an Empire-supporter, he was a hero, he was a villain...He was...

The most annoying man Mara Jade had ever met!

As if his split personality weren't bad enough, the blasted guy with all his blasted flaws had grown on her. She didn't even know when and how it had happened, whether it was on Myrkr, whether it was after C'baoth, or whether it was even just recently. But, try as she might, as much as she might hate him, she just didn't want him to die!

Oh, she wanted to kill him all right, but that was a desire she'd probably never be able to suppress. Even though she really wanted to take his own lightsaber and slice his throat with it, she also wanted to redeem him from his newfound Dark Side leanings and set him about saving the galaxy once again.

As conflicted as her feelings were, she had the slightest bit of satisfaction in knowing that his feelings were the same. She could probably bring the whole Republic down on his head, and he still wouldn't kill her. That righteous Jedi was still buried within him, and it was what was stopping him from killing her right now.

He was more than capable of doing it, she knew. And he _should_ do it. That she knew, too. But he _couldn't_ do it. She might be threatening his plans, but he would stab himself in the heart before he would stab her in the leg.

It was during her angry musings that the door whooshed open and Kantasha stepped through with an expression of contempt on her face. She was cradling her blaster in her arms as she threw a look of malice at Mara.

"Luke and Thrawn have gone elsewhere. Right now, it's just you, me, and the ysalamiri. I'm under strict orders not to kill you, but if you even attempt to attack me, I won't hesitate to do so."

For a moment, Mara had a brief flashback to Myrkr. She'd given a speech much like Kantasha's to Luke while he was at blaster point.

"What are they doing?" Mara asked. Maybe she'd be able to get some information out of her.

"Do you think I'd tell you?" Kantasha snorted. "I'm sure you'll see the product of their handiwork soon enough, though. I'll be sure to bring the holonews for you to read."

"How kind," Mara said dryly.

Kantasha gave her a bitter smile.

Well, whatever Skywalker and Thrawn were doing, it looked like it would be a while before Mara found out about it.

* * *

Thrawn studied Luke Skywalker's face.

The human's blue eyes were closed, and his face was creased just perceptibly. Other than that, there were no signs of what he was doing,...unlike with Joruus C'baoth, whose face showed clear signs of the strain he was going through.

Perhaps C'baoth had had more men whose minds he had to keep track of, or perhaps Skywalker was simply stronger.

Idly, Thrawn wondered whether the Jedi was using the Light Side or the Dark Side of the Force, but then he decided it didn't matter. As long as the job was done.

Thrawn's fingers (whose blue hue was still suppressed by the skin solution) were poised over a datapad, waiting for input from the concentrating human. The Senate meeting had only just begun, so it was only natural that Skywalker had nothing to report yet.

Sooner than the Chiss had expected, the Jedi began to speak, his voice sounding eerily detached.

With a grim smile, Grand Admiral Thrawn recorded every word he was told.

...Probably the Dark Side. After all, Dark Side users were more accustomed to entering the minds of others and sensing the deceits within.

Looking down at the information he was entering in, the Chiss felt amused. New Republic Security was going to both love and loathe the information it would soon receive.

* * *

"How did things go for your first day?" Kantasha asked Luke as she brushed her long, raven-colored hair. Thrawn was elsewhere, handling a few secretive matters.

"As well as can be expected," came Luke's ambiguous reply.

The young man watched silently as the brush slid easily through the young woman's black hair, like a sable sea parting before a large ship.

He felt desire well up within him, an emotion he had extinguished so many times before. Jedi weren't meant to be happy. A Jedi was supposed to feel no emotions.

...But the Jedi were also supposed to be protectors of the Republic.

If he had decided not to adhere to that, then there was no reason for him to follow the other rules that guided Jedi.

A sinister, secretive smile crossed his face, and he let all of his bottled-up emotions loose to spring forth like a tidal wave.

He might not be able to touch the Force at that moment, but he felt no need to. It was enough to be able to _feel_.

A strangely sinister grin on his face, Luke got to his feet and walked over to Kantasha, who was sitting in a chair in front of the mirror. He brought his head down beside hers, and when she moved hers to look at him, he captured her mouth in a violent kiss full of pain, loneliness, and desire. It didn't take long for Kantasha to realize what he was doing and kiss him back, an expression of triumph on her face.

Far too soon for Kantasha's liking, Luke broke away, and he disappeared out the door, leaving Kantasha Pellaeon staring after him in mild confusion.


	20. Little Lost Lamb

"All right," Kantasha said to Thrawn. The Chiss had appeared a few minutes ago, though Luke still hadn't returned. "How exactly are we going to do this?"

Thrawn looked down at his datapad. "We have enough information to get the wheels of discord flowing. I suspect that perhaps the best way of going about it is one every two days. The only problem is presentation."

Kantasha Pellaeon thought for a moment before suggesting an idea to the cool Chiss.

Thrawn smiled. "Perfect. We can't hand everything to them on a silver platter, and this would be a rather intriguing way of going about it. We can pass the idea by Skywalker, whom I am sure will have no qualms."

The raven-haired beauty glanced momentarily at the door to Mara's room. "What are we going to do about Jade?"

Thrawn's red eyes glittered as he looked briefly up from the datapad. "Surely you don't believe that if we kill her Skywalker will be entirely on our side. It is not hurting us to keep her prisoner, and she may prove of some use in the end."

Kantasha watched him for a long time, noting with some unease that he did not say _who_ Mara would be of use to...

* * *

Luke returned silently, and without a word he passed by Thrawn and Kantasha and disappeared into Mara's room. Kantasha glowered after him.

Mara looked surprised to see him, and she also looked somewhat guilty, as she had been entertaining ideas of escape.

Luke sat down on the bed beside her, not speaking for a long time. When he finally did, he refused to meet her eyes. "Why did you really come? It wasn't to bring me a message from Leia..."

Mara Jade studied him. He seemed tired, drained, conflicted...She might be able to get to him yet.

Still, she couldn't restrain her temper, and she flared, "Who says it wasn't?"

"Mara," the Jedi said quietly, "I know it wasn't."

"You landed yourself in a pile of trouble, and I came to haul your butt out of it again."

"I killed a man, Mara," the sorrowful young man said after a long pause. "He was innocent...I had no motive. It just...happened. How could I—"

"Skywalker," Mara interjected, "you're going to kill a lot more than that with whatever this plan is that you have."

He shook his head, an almost earnest expression on his face as he turned to look at her. "No, that's what's so great about this plan: I'll be killing no one."

The Master Trader found herself wondering for the umpteenth time what exactly this plan was. She'd tried listening at the door, but everyone had made sure to talk in low voices when speaking about it. She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Not right off the bat, maybe, but when you establish your Empire—"

"It won't be like that!" Luke interrupted. "We'll establish the Empire, sure, but we'll be just. Think about the Empire in its glory days, Mara, before the Emperor became so xenophobic and greedy. The Republic collapsed, and he took all those systems and united them. There'll be no more senatorial squabbles...And we can put good people in charge, and the Jedi can monitor them. The Empire won't be ruled by fear anymore."

The former Emperor's Hand stared at the fair-headed young man. There was such an eager light in his eyes, a light she had seen before when he spoke about something he was passionate about,...a light which used to be in his eyes when he talked about the Rebellion.

She thought about her service with the Empire, of the order within it. It was an order that the New Republic had never been able to achieve.

Mara looked at him, her inner gears spinning. Carefully, she chose her words. "Skywalker,...I will help you."

Searching her face with his wide blue eyes, Luke could see no deceit.

"Oh, Mara...This is...great."

Mara smiled. She could see the farmboy shining through. _Where have you been?_ she wondered.

Luke swallowed, gazing into Mara's emerald green eyes.

She stared back into his eyes. She had never really noticed just how blue they really were...Strange, that she would notice now...

Luke brought his face closer down to hers, as if drawn by a magnet, and he closed his eyes as he continued on his descent. Mara, with mixed emotions, parted her lips as she felt his warm breath upon her face, and she waited for his lips to come and caress hers.

They never did.

Sensing that something was wrong, Mara opened her eyes, and she saw Luke looking at her in a sort of panic. He almost looked ashamed.

"Mara, I—" he said, right before bolting out of the room.

The redhead stared after him, bringing her fingers up to gently touch her lips. Skywalker had almost kissed her, something which she was sure would have been a big mistake...

But why did she regret his leaving so much?


	21. Plan Begun

Kantasha Pellaeon and Mitth'raw'nuruodo turned to see a somewhat frantic-looking Jedi bound into the room. As soon as the term "frantic" passed into their minds, however, it was gone, for the Jedi had turned his face into an impassive mask and was acting as if his behavior had not been in the least bit unusual.

Kantasha couldn't help but ask, "What'd you talk to her about?"

Luke Skywalker brought his blue eyes to bear upon her. "I have convinced Jade to join us. We shall be having no more difficulty with her."

Eyes blazing, Kantasha stood. "I don't trust her."

He gave her a cold stare. "Trust? You wish to bring trust into this? I've known Mara for years. How long have I known you?" Luke pinned her with his gaze. "Do you still want to bring trust into the equation?"

Thrawn chose to enter the conversation then, his eyes glittering warningly at the dark-haired female. "We will abide by your judgment, Jedi Skywalker." He cleared his throat. "There is another matter we wish to have your judgment upon." He then proceeded to explain the plan Kantasha had suggested.

The human male nodded, a mischievous smile on his face. "I like it. Who'll be doing the—"

"We can work on it together, if you'd like," Kantasha said quietly.

Luke understood that it was meant to be a sort of apology. "All right. We'll get on it, then I can do the planting."

The Chiss (who was still in his human guise) started to protest.

Luke held up a hand. "I know my face is well-known, but I'm going to be wearing a cloak, and with the Force I shall be keeping everyone's attention away from me...Also, I know the people within the Republic better. I know where the information should go."

Thrawn nodded. He understood that the Jedi needed this. Powerful or not, he was still human, and the human psyche often possessed a thirst to prove itself. Very well. He would give the Jedi this test, and he knew that the Jedi would pass it. And it was only right that the New Republic should be taken down so willingly by one of its own.

* * *

Later, two New Republic Intelligence operatives discovered a datacard. When they put it into a datapad, they read:

_**N**ever trust an advocate  
Of keeping spice from public markets;  
G'n'n'al'th will be upset  
When you find how much spice _he _really gets.  
_  
After they read the datacard a few times, one of the NRI agents made the observation that the first letter of "Never" was in a bolder and larger font than all the other letters. "What do you think that means?" he asked his friend.

The other agent looked at it, somewhat puzzled. "Could be an error or malfunction. Somehow, I think that's the least of our worries." She sighed. "Guess we'd better start investigating Senator G'n'n'al'th..." She looked somewhat puzzled. "Do you really think the Senator uses spice? I mean, he's so outspoken against it..."

The male shrugged. "I've heard of stranger things."

* * *

Luke sat with Mara in her room. She was now free to roam about, but she wasn't exactly eager to go into the same room as Kantasha.

"We've started the plan," Luke told her. His eyes almost seemed to dance.

"Which is...?" Mara asked, trying to read him. She was more skilled at reading people than most, but it would have been a lot easier if she could touch the Force. But Luke hadn't taken the ysalamiri back to the ship, explaining that it was easier for him to hide himself from Leia that way. Though she didn't mention it, Mara knew that the ysalamiri actually mostly affected her room. Only a little of the anti-Force bubble extended into the other room.

Luke shook his head. "I want it to be a surprise. You'll see soon enough." He was silent for a moment. "I'm glad you're here, Mara...I'm glad that I have something left of what's now my past, and I'm glad that I can help bring yours back by supporting the Empire as my father did."

"You can't just bring back the past," Mara said quietly.

"I know...But you can build upon it and make it even better."

The redhead looked at him. His optimistic streak still managed to shine through. Despite the darkness threatening to envelop him, he still seemed to maintain his inner light. But Mara wondered how long it would last. Little by little, the darkness continued to come, trying to snuff out that light.

Would it ever be completely snuffed out? Would the man that used to be Luke Skywalker, the farmboy turned fighter pilot turned Jedi Master, finally cease to exist?

As Mara Jade continued to look at him, the darkness came back, clouding his brilliant blue eyes.

"They shall pay," he whispered. "The New Republic shall be brought down. The New Republic shall fall. And we will watch, you and I, Mara, we will watch it fall. You, the one friend who has stuck beside me, despite having been given every reason not to, you will watch with me, as the New Republic falls in upon itself, as the Old did." He looked over at Mara, his eyes filled with a kind of manic glee. "Do you feel the thrill, Mara? The excitement coursing through your veins..."

As Mara met his eyes, she couldn't help but shiver. He gave a small smile, then brought a finger up and gently moved it up and down her arm, sending chills down her spine.

"The Old Republic was taken down and replaced by an Empire, which was in turn replaced by the New Republic. When we take down the New Republic, shall we call the government the New Empire?" he asked with a small smile.

"Whatever you want, Skywalker," Mara answered, trying to work moisture back into her mouth. "You can call it the New Krayt Dragon if it pleases you."

Luke gave an unexpected bark of laughter which caused Mara to jump. "Or the New Bantha Cub."

"Or the New Womp Rat," returned Mara.

"Or the New Jawaling."

"Or the New Sandjigger."

Luke looked at Mara curiously. He hadn't realized she'd been _that_ familiar with his homeplanet. "How have you heard about sandjiggers?"

Mara shrugged. "I like to familiarize myself with a planet before I go to it. Something I learned when working for the Emperor."

Luke was impressed. "Well, the New Sandjigger it is." The darkness in his eyes had almost completely disappeared, replaced by a twinkle. But Mara could still see just a little of it shading his eyes.


	22. Deja Evilness

A triumphant look on his face, Luke Skywalker set something down in front of Mara Jade.

Puzzled, she looked down. It was a news story. She frowned, not knowing what was so important about it, but she began reading it.

_Outspoken Senator a Hypocrite?_

_New Republic Senator G'n'n'al'th, outspoken anti-spice enthusiast, has been found guilty of using the illegal substance. Officials got the tip-off from an anonymous source, and—_

Mara stopped reading the article, looking up at Luke. "An anonymous source, huh?"

"Yep," Luke said, eyes sparkling.

"So, you get one senator thrown in prison and expect the New Republic to fall at your feet?" she sounded skeptical.

"Oh, no, Mara," Luke corrected her, a dark glint in his blue eyes. "You forget we have Grand Admiral Thrawn on our side..._This_," he made a sweeping gesture at the article, "this is only the beginning. The New Republic shall crumble slowly and painfully, torn apart because of its own people, the most just way for it to go, as did the Old. It's simple for the New Republic to recover from external blows...But when the internal struggles start to bring it apart...There is nothing anyone can do to stop it."

Mara stared at him. It was just like Palpatine had done. Patiently push at rivalries and reveal real deceptions. Political maneuvering that tore the Republic apart at its core...But Luke wasn't even pulling maneuvers in the Senate. He was allowing the Senate to break itself apart.

She turned her emerald eyes back to the article. It seemed like various rivals were pointing at Senator G'n'n'al'th's system and declaring it corrupt. Luke had successfully started some fires, and what he was going to do was just add more fuel to the flames.

"It's really going to work," Mara whispered, as the fact truly sunk in. She hadn't really believed they would do it before. Sure, Thrawn was a mastermind that had nearly taken down the New Republic before, but he'd had more resources at his disposal.

Then, Thrawn had concentrated more on strategic blows than on tearing the New Republic from the inside out, though there had been a fair amount of that. He'd also had a Jedi then, but that had been an insane clone. Now, Thrawn had Luke Skywalker, _the_ Jedi Master, a man familiar with the dealings of the New Republic and in full possession of his senses. Luke Skywalker could reach out to the Dark Side and read most beings' minds on a whim if he chose to, and now it seemed that ability was being used.

The Jedi gave a Dark smile. "Yes. Yes, it is."

Mara shivered.

* * *

A cloaked figure planted another datacard, and when finally someone came upon it, he read:

_**R**iding high above the skies  
Are stolen ships that Vif Avner flies;  
If you ask he'll tell you lies,  
But check their I.D.s and be in for a surprise._

The first letter was again in a bolder font than the rest.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," murmured the datacard's finder.

It was the duty of Intelligence to collect information concerning corruption in the New Republic, but every operative knew in his gut that too much information could be a bad thing. One senator had already been taken down by an anonymous source, starting several disputes. It was one thing for smugglers to be tracked down and "bad guys" to be stopped in their tracks. It was quite another for a _senator_ to be revealed as corrupt.

Clutching his datacard, he bit his lips. This was _not_ going to turn out very well.

* * *

As Luke looked down at yet another article, he smiled. He brought up his gaze to take in Kantasha and Thrawn. "It continues."

"Indeed," the Chiss said simply.

Kantasha was quiet. She hadn't said much ever since Mara and Luke had made their peace.

"I'm going to go fetch us some more provisions," Thrawn said, standing up. With a nod to both of them, he left, having made the decision to let them work things out on their own.

They sat in silence for a little while.

"Are you excited?" Luke asked. "Haven't you been waiting for this?"

Kantasha nodded, her eyes averted, though she seemed somewhat unsure.

"I have to admit, I have a few doubts," the young man said quietly.

Kantasha Pellaeon looked up.

"Not that the Republic will fall," he hastened to assure her. "I just wonder—how are we to keep the Empire in power? Where can we get the resources?"

"Spice exchange," the raven-haired woman mumbled, eliciting a curious look from Luke. Something about those words seemed strange, almost familiar...

"What?" he asked carefully.

She just shook her head. After a moment, she reached out and lightly began stroking his leg, clearing such thoughts from his head.

He looked down at her hand with mixed feelings. She was a beautiful woman, with a striking personality. He couldn't help but feel attracted to her; he _was_ a human male...

And yet...

When Luke had kissed her for the first time, it hadn't been her face he had been seeing...

It had been that of a certain fiery redheaded Trader...

But who was he kidding?

One kiss, he'd almost stolen _one kiss_ from her.

But he hadn't been able to do it. Was it because in his heart he knew that they wouldn't work together? Could it be that he had been reaching for something he couldn't have? Had he wanted to simply tame the Krayt dragon?

Surely, Mara had no feelings for him. She'd wanted to kill him once upon a time. Had she just dropped that thought?

No, Luke didn't think he needed to fear her taking his life, though he feared her taking his heart.

Friends...Just friends, he told himself. That was all they could be.

A little voice inside himself tried to protest, but he squashed it.

Kantasha was more his type. _She_ hadn't tried to hide from the Force. She willingly touched the Dark Side to fulfill her purposes.

He smiled almost sardonically. She could be his Dark Queen.

Taking Kantasha's hands in his, Luke pulled her closer to him, enveloping her mouth with his.

What he did not see was a pair of green eyes watching closely through a crack in a barely opened door. Silently, the door closed.


	23. Next Chapter

"They're really beginning to totter," Thrawn said to Luke and Kantasha, apropos of nothing.

The female smiled. Her mood had improved dramatically. "Of course. We knew they would."

"A little easier than I had expected. It seems your disappearance has upset them greatly, Skywalker," the Chiss said, his cool red eyes looking upon the male Force user.

"Yes," muttered Luke. "They don't like not knowing where all their errand boys are."

"Especially when the loose Jedi is at the head of the order," Thrawn commented.

"Especially then," Luke agreed. His hand held up a datacard. "Time to plant another one," he stated calmly before cloaking himself and disappearing out the door.

* * *

The two men stared down at the datapad that one of the men held. The mysterious informant had left yet another datacard with the first letter of the poem in bold font. It read:

_**F**ailure to keep secrets as such  
Is a problem with Senator Halbruch,  
To sell 'em quickly, he does rush,  
And to high bidders those secrets he'll gush._

The taller man spoke first. "Another one. I can't believe we've got another one. Why can't any of the kriffin' senators be clean for once?"

"If they were clean, they wouldn't be senators," his companion replied.

"So I've noticed," the taller man said dryly. "Well, it looks like Senator Halbruch just can't keep his krething ten-mile wide mouth shut."

"Just like this informant can't keep the bad news to himself," returned the other man. "Who do you think's been doing this?"

The larger man gave him a long, hard stare. "Well, the security cameras always show a cloaked humanoid, and no one ever seems to remember him coming by, even those who are supposed to be _watching_ the security cameras. My bets are on that blasted escaped Jedi."

The smaller man looked surprised. "Skywalker?"

The other man nodded. "A Jedi doesn't disappear with his cellmate from a maximum security prison. You're gonna hear from him _somehow_. They've been keeping such a tight lid on this that I can't get anyone else to say they agree with me, but it's gotta be that kriffin' Jedi. It fits."

"How so?"

The taller man turned one eye on his companion. "If he escapes _with_ his cellmate—" he cut off, a thought having occurred to him. "You haven't, by the way, heard anything about this cellmate, have you?" The other man shook his head. "Well, I haven't either, but I'm just assuming this mysterious cellmate was put on that prison planet for a good reason. What if he's managed to convert the New Republic's favorite hero? Probably didn't take too much. The great Jedi Master was probably itching to get out of that cell of his...So, Skywalker turns against the Republic, but he doesn't try to go against the Republic with force. After all, the Empire tried to do that with the Rebellion but failed. Instead, the Jedi, who is familiar with how unstable things always are in the Senate, tries to use perfectly correct information to bring down the Republic, since those senators lacking morality would make everyone look bad. It would make sense, wouldn't it? The Jedi would be able to okay it with his almighty conscience, because he wouldn't _really_ be doing anything wrong, would he? Just telling the truth..."

The smaller man whistled appreciatively. "That's some theory of yours."

The other man looked suddenly disgruntled, though. "Problem is, there's no way we can prove it. I _have_ heard, however, that the higher ups have been trying to get some weird lizard-things, though what that has to do with anything, I dunno. But they seem to think they'll do _something_."

The two man sat quietly in thought for some time afterwards.

* * *

Luke slipped back into the room, pulling down his hood after the door closed. "It's done."

"It won't be long now before NRI gets in some ysalamiri," Thrawn said warningly. "You'll have to be more careful then."

"I will," the Jedi said. He looked towards the door leading to Mara's room, and something like a wince passed across his face. "Does anyone know what's been wrong with Mara lately?"

"No," Kantasha answered. She looked as if she were only barely restraining herself from saying something against the fiery redhead.

"Maybe I'd better talk to her," Luke said, a bit unsure. He moved towards the door and opened it, starting to walk in.

"OUT!" came an forceful female voice from the other room, causing Luke Skywalker to rethink his plan, backing out of the room and shutting the door before a sharp object deprived him of his ability to see.

"Maybe another time," he said quickly and almost embarrassedly, as if he were speaking to Thrawn and Kantasha, though his words were actually aimed mostly at himself.

"Indeed," Thrawn said, his eyes glittering with amusement. "We would all prefer that you retain your sight."

"You're not the only ones," Luke said, sighing as he wearily rubbed his eyes.


	24. Closer and Closer

The cloaked figure deposited a datacard, disappearing out the door.

This time, a floating espionage droid followed.

The humanoid turned a corner, and the droid, keeping its distance, cautiously tried to follow. While going around the corner, however, it was ambushed by the ready figure, who effectively deactivated the machine in a few swift steps, catching the small round droid before it hit the ground. The humanoid gently placed it on the floor, then continued walking away unhindered.

* * *

Kantasha looked up as Luke walked in silently with a body expression that screamed: _Don't talk to me._ He looked somewhat weary, yet strangely it was as if his tiredness weren't from fatigue but instead from something else...

She surveyed his expression a little while longer as he plopped into a chair.

Sad.

That's what it was. He seemed sad.

Frowning, the raven-haired woman wondered why. Things were going so well. What could he possibly be sad about?

So brief she barely caught it, the Jedi's blue eyes flicked to and away from the door leading to Mara's room.

So that was it. She scowled.

A strange glint flared up in her eyes, but it was quickly disguised.

So, she wasn't good enough for the Jedi, huh? He was still pining after that caustic redhead whose Force skills were so pathetically weak they were laughable. Despite that, Kantasha would always be second best to that blasted redhead.

What in blazes did he see in her?

Kantasha stood up, her face remarkably composed. Thrawn, who was reading a datacard, saw the movement from the corners of his eyes and looked up. Luke reluctantly lifted his eyes as well.

"I think the two of you—oh, I'm sorry, the _three_ of you—" (at this her eyes flicked to Mara's door) "are doing well enough as you are. I myself have a few things to take care of, so I'm going to be—"

Thrawn's eyes glittered, and he spoke with a cool tone. "You are not to ruin what we have tried so hard to construct."

The calm expression on her face cracked. "I'll not destroy your precious progress!" she hissed. "But you cannot stop me from leaving!"

"You will not—" Thrawn tried to say, a commanding tone his voice.

Her arms flailing and nostrils flaring, Kantasha Pellaeon shouted, "You can't tell me what to do! I must get back—I must punish—I'm leaving!" She stormed out without a second glance.

Thrawn stood up as if to go after her, but for a moment he stood frozen, and Luke could almost see the gears working in his mind.

The Chiss seemed to tense for a moment before finally sitting back down, his decision made.

Luke stared at him.

"It's simple," the Imperial Grand Admiral said, though his mouth made a tight and grim line. "I doubt she intends to destroy what progress we have made, and even if I went after her, she would probably make such a commotion as to draw much unwanted attention upon us. Such attention could bring the authorities on us in a heartbeat."

Luke nodded. The logic was sound. He hesitated before he spoke again. "Do you know what she was talking about?"

Calculating eyes rested upon the Jedi. "She's a wild card, Skywalker. Whatever she's going to do will either be beneficial or detrimental. The cards have been laid, and, if we try to stop her, we will most likely bring ill upon ourselves."

"All right."

* * *

**_A_**_senator well known to you  
As Ji'luturnya of Ixzus Blue  
Is doing things he should not do;  
Check his account and you'll find it's true._

She stared down at the stupid poem, wishing it would cease to exist. The blasted datacard had turned out to be right.

The Senator Ji'luturnya had been transferring credits from other accounts to his, and the Senate was on the verge of imploding. People had began wondering if every Senator was a criminal. They wanted to know who exactly had been elected to run the galaxy.

One of NRI's biggest questions was: What were the bold letters in front of the poems supposed to mean?

Another problem of Intelligence's was what to do. Those individuals participating in illegal activities were surely weakening the New Republic, but by NRI's taking them _out_ of the Senate, NRI was just as surely bashing the New Republic's supports.

What was to be done?


	25. It was about that time

Intelligence had received two more poems, spaced out as all the others were. The first was:

_**L**ittle Ginert was found dead  
With blaster marks upon his head;  
For political gain, credits were fed  
To an assassin by Jirak Zired._

The evidence was found that Jirak Zired had hired someone to kill Ginert, and he was promptly arrested. The second received poem was:

_**L**ots of hardware you will find  
At Quethla's home, in a shrine  
Dedicated to blowing up, in time,  
Senators and creatures of like kind._

Quethla had, in fact, been building an incredibly powerful bomb, but he had been caught just in time.

The New Republic was teetering, and a cloaked figure planted the very last poem:

'_**S**eems when a bill comes around,  
Someone goes to Qitleround  
"Pass or stop this!" from him'll resound  
And money by him will soon be found._

This time luck was not with the humanoid, however, and he, in his relief and anticipation, missed the nearly microscopic spy device that his cloak swept up on his departure.

* * *

When the poem was discovered, it had also been found that Qitleround had been easily bribed, a matter which no one had been happy about. The final piece of the puzzle with this poem had finally clicked into place. The bold letters spelled out: NR FALLS.

But the puzzle had been figured out too late.

No longer was there one barely unified republic. The Senate was disbanded, and Anarchy began his chaotic reign.

Parties of all sorts were swooping all over Coruscant. There were Republicans remaining steadfast to their departed government, Imperialists coming out from the shadows, Socialists and Communists bringing forth impossible galactic plans, members of the Smuggler's Party and the Interplanetary Trade Party...Those were just a few of the non-species oriented parties.

Meanwhile, officials such as Mon Mothma and Ackbar had gone into hiding, unable to quell the fires spreading throughout the galaxy.

* * *

The door chimed, and Leia, after reaching out worriedly through the Force, answered it. Her face was haggard. Everything she'd worked for was gone, and she didn't know what to do to fix it.

Karrde stood outside.

"Have you heard anything more?" she asked, worriedly.

Two droids and an ex-smuggler soon appeared behind her, the other occupants of the apartment. Winter and Chewbacca had taken the three children to Kashyyyk, as it was far too dangerous on Coruscant.

"I know it's not much now, but I've learned that all the trouble in the Senate was caused by one cloaked humanoid's information, a humanoid who was uncannily able to avoid all who tried to get near him..."

"Luke," breathed Leia.

"I've also heard that Ackbar's been trying to get some ysalamiri, though there've been shipping problems somehow related to the unrest that was in the Senate. He's about to get them, though, which could be a problem if it is decided Skywalker is better off dead," Karrde said.

Leia looked horrified.

"But not all my news is bad," Karrde continued. His eyes glinted.

"Oh?" Han said, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yes. I managed to pinpoint Skywalker's location with a spy device. Your New Republic may have fallen, but if we get the Jedi in time, maybe it won't be too late to pick up the pieces..." Karrde normally tried to stay out of politics, but he knew that his information would be well-paid for by the Solos.

"All right," Han said. "Let's go."

* * *

Kantasha had gotten over her flare of anger and had ended up doing nothing. She was currently sitting with Thrawn and Luke, once again doing nothing. They planned to wait for the amount of time calculated by Thrawn before stepping up and taking power. This wait was to let some of the fires burn out and to allow Pellaeon to come to Coruscant with backup.

Then, they could step forward and erect an Empire once more.

Kantasha smiled. The Empire would be resurrected.

Her smile quickly turned to a frown, however, as Luke got up and slipped into Mara's room. Curse that redhead. The Jedi was Kantasha's! No one else's...

* * *

"I can't believe you did it," was all Mara said to Luke when he came in. 

"I can't believe you didn't throw something at me," Luke returned. But his humor was cautious. Was she _still_ planning to throw something at him?

"What good would it do me?"

"Probably not much."

Mara was quiet.

"Why were you mad at me the other day?" Luke asked. He had the feeling it wasn't the wisest of questions, but he wanted to know.

"You know, Skywalker, I always expected that you would somehow keep your farmboy naivete and honesty, never becoming jaded or deceitful. But I've glimpsed a different side of you. The feelings of others mean nothing to you now." The redhead's voice got softer near the end, almost sounding choked.

"That's not true, Mara!" Luke exclaimed, grabbing her hand.

But she pulled it away. "On Tatooine, a man might be able to have more than one wife, but I'll never settle as second best."

The Jedi stood gaping. His brain threatened to go into overload. Mara had mentioned the word "wife" and had alluded to a possible serious relationship with him, a man from Tatooine. Had Tatooine frozen over?

"Go away, Skywalker. Take your Empire and go away...I thought that if I pretended to be on your side, to support you, maybe I would be able to convince you that you were wrong. But you weren't the man I thought you were." She hid her face. "Leave me alone. I never want to see you again."

Luke stared at her, frozen into place. Mara...

He wanted...He wanted...

He shook his head. What did he want?

Whenever he stepped into the ysalamiri bubble, his feelings became all jumbled. He began to doubt everything, as if when he weren't in the bubble there was something trying to control him through the Force.

He attempted to clear his mind, and he realized, rather belatedly, that Mara had seen him and Kantasha kissing...

"Mara—"

"Go," she commanded, still avoiding his eyes.

It was about that time that the wall exploded.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Many thanks to In Restless Walks' wonderful betaing! 


	26. Another chappie

**Author's Notes:** In Restless Walks, you make a lovely beta! Thanks!

* * *

In came Leia, Han, Karrde, and the two droids. "Luke!" exclaimed Leia Organa Solo, rushing over to hug her brother.

He stood stiffly. "Leia."

Mara wiped at her face before finally looking up with slightly red eyes. "Took you guys long enough."

"You can blame that on the chaos," Karrde said. "What have you two been—" he cut off, seeing two humans enter. "Is that—?"

"Kantasha Pellaeon, Leia's former aide," the dark-haired woman offered as she aimed a blaster and fried the ysalamiri that Mara had privately tried multiple times to kill. The creature was pointless now. Something strange flickered across Luke's face. Kantasha gave a grim smile."My companion is Grand Admiral Thrawn in human guise. Surrender or die."

"What?" Han snorted. He looked over at Luke, whose face was expressionless. "Tell me she's not serious, kid. Thrawn's dead...What have you been doing?"

Luke's blue eyes flared. "You know fully well what I've been doing, Han. Tearing down the New Republic. Breaking things is what I'm best at, remember?" The look in his eyes did not belong to his face. His was supposed to be innocent, peaceful...Not monstrous and evil...

"I'm afraid I truly am Thrawn, Solo," the Chiss said.

"Oh, really? How'd you survive, then?" Han stared, daring the other man to rattle off some tall tale.

Thrawn's eyes glinted in amusement. "It's a rather long story."

Leia was staring at Luke and fighting the urge to cry. This cruel-faced man couldn't be her brother.

"It's true, Solo," Mara spoke up.

"Are you with them, too, Mara?" Karrde couldn't help but ask.

"I—I tried to pretend, but..." she couldn't finish.

Han stared at Thrawn for a moment. His gut told him they were right. Only Thrawn had that chillingly powerful presence. He tried to wipe thoughts away of how in the world the humanoid had survived. He looked at his brother-in-law. "Why'd you do it, Luke?"

"If the New Republic could fall this easily, it's not a worthy government. I merely saved time and pain by pointing out true wrongdoings. I accelerated the inevitable collapse."

"You didn't answer my question, Luke."

The Jedi stared at the former smuggler, finally allowing the question to sink in.

Why had he done it?

For power? Power had never had any appeal to him.

For pleasure? Bringing down the government he had helped create couldn't exactly be construed as pleasurable.

To prove himself? He'd done that time and time again.

Why?

He'd murdered a man unintentionally and been sent to prison by people he had once called his friends. Why? Because they considered him a threat.

He'd been sent to a prison planet where he was jailed with an Imperial mastermind. Why? Because the mastermind had practiced manipulation to get there.

He'd been convinced that his friends and family didn't truly care and that the New Republic had poor leadership. Why? Because they were fears he had already held.

"The New Republic had poor leadership. You sat in many of the Senate meetings, Leia, Han. You know how few things get done. The government didn't work out. A strong government should be able to withstand such chippings away at its corrupted members." Ice seemed to suddenly form in the Jedi's eyes. "But that wasn't all. I've done so much for the Republic and for you all. And yet I was locked away without a second thought. You never even considered breaking me out until things got too tough for you back home and you needed your friendly neighborhood Jedi to help you get out of the mess you found yourselves in. Well, guess what? I'm no longer the man I was. I helped bring down the New Republic, and I'm erecting an Empire in its place."

A sadistic grin spread about Kantasha's face, which alarmed Thrawn, who knew her far too well. But it was too late to do anything about it now.

"You had no faith in him. You were willing to write him off as a murderer. But guess what? He didn't kill that fool Novell. I did it, to prove your lack of faith and to bring him and Thrawn together." She looked at Luke, from whom shock was radiating. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. The proper opportunity didn't present itself."

The Jedi blinked, thinking back to the incident.

He'd been in a foul mood. A man had run into him.

He'd been in a foul mood. _Why_ had he been in a foul mood? There had been no reason for him to be in a foul mood...

His mood...

His mood had worsened when Kantasha had killed the ysalamiri...

Why had he been in a foul mood at all in that time?

He had believed that he'd killed the man because he _was_ mad and the man _did_ die. He'd thought it was his anger lashing out...But _why_ would he have been angry?

He'd loved teaching Jedi and hated killing people. If he'd ran into a man, he would have ordinarily apologized profusely.

_Why_ had it been different?

Thrawn watched the play of emotions across Luke Skywalker's face, and he knew that Kantasha, like a fool, had released information at the worst possible time.

Mara was also watching the play of emotions, and hundreds of thoughts cascaded through her mind. Finally, she grabbed onto one and exclaimed: "The witch!"

Everyone looked at her. Even Luke was startled out of his deep contemplations.

Mara began speaking rapidly. "She's been affecting your emotions the entire time! I thought it was you, thought that you were a cheating scoundrel," (at this, several people began wondering what she was talking about) "but in actuality she was manipulating you! When she killed the ysalamiri, she was able to control your emotions again. Your confusion was caused by her and multiplied when you went in and out of the ysalamiri bubble and your brain told you to believe different things...And you do not actually have feelings for her!"

It was then that a strange glint began to show in Kantasha's eyes as she realized everything was falling apart. "I did it all for you!" she sobbed, a manic glint in her eyes. "All of it! When I first saw a picture of you and heard of what you could do, I knew we were meant for each other. All that I did...I just wanted us to be together, like it should be. The two greatest Force users in the galaxy..."

Luke's anger was now directed at her. "You..."

"It would have worked if it hadn't been for Jade!" Kantasha Pellaeon turned with maniacally gleaming eyes toward Mara. She conjured up her lightsaber and extended the blade. "It's all her fault!" she shouted as she rushed at her.

Leia had, quite a while before, put Luke's lightsaber into Artoo's hidden compartment. Artoo-Detoo, being the smart little droid he was, saw Kantasha's explosion coming and prepared the lightsaber for ejection.

Therefore, when Kantasha's blade came crashing down toward Mara's head, it was met by Luke's blade in the hands of Mara Jade.

The other occupants of the room backed up, not desiring to be too close to the lightsaber duel in the small amount of space available. Furniture littered the battling ground, and the room wasn't even near the proper size for a lightsaber duel. The group didn't need to worry about anyone walking in through the hole in the wall, however, for everyone in the vicinity had been properly stunned via stunbolt or Force (the former by Han and the latter by Leia).

Luke watched the blades clash, mesmerized. Mara wielded his green lightsaber just as well as she had wielded the blue one he had given her.

He studied Kantasha's blade color. He hadn't given it much thought during the breakout. It was a sickly yellow color. He supposed he should have noticed that before. Lightsabers said a lot about their owners.

This duel was not elegant, though it could not have been expected to be so in such a poor battlefield. However, a lot of the lack of elegance was due to the fact that both opponents were willing to fight dirty.

Kantasha slashed then kicked. Mara dodged, then retaliated with a roundhouse kick. The raven-haired woman only caught a little of it. She thrust her lightsaber, which was deflected by Mara's weapon, and then she batted Mara's saber to the side and leaped at her. The two sabers fell to the floor, deactivating, and the two females went rolling in a battle of fists, feet, teeth, and nails.

Suddenly, both broke away, grabbing the lightsabers before anyone else got the chance to consider taking them and turning them on.

Luke watched them expressionlessly, but his insides were in turmoil. What he had been told changed everything...

"Kid," Han said, placing a hand on Luke's shoulder.

The blonde-haired man jumped away.

Han looked at him seriously. "I never really thought you did it. It was just that, afterwards, you seemed so resigned to the fact. I didn't know what to do. I contemplated grabbing you that day and blasting off into smugglers' space, but it was as if something died in you that day. You'd lost your spark. I wasn't sure how to get it back...You know we love you, kid. Loved you before the whole incident and after. We've been worried sick about you. The New Republic's collapsed, Luke. We should be trying to paste it back together, but instead we're here with you kid. _You're_ what matters to us."

Han glanced at the raging pair of women, then he looked back at Luke. "Remember how it was in the beginning? I cared only about myself, and Leia cared only about her cause...Then you came into our lives, and suddenly we saw that there are other things to care about...Luke, please come back to us."

The Jedi's blue eyes shimmered with unshed moisture as he gazed into the worried brown orbs of his brother-in-law.

Watching Luke Skywalker's face, Thrawn knew that it was all over. "Stop," he commanded. "_Stop_."

The two females clashed blades a few more times, then they seemed to realize Thrawn was talking to them. They looked at each other, contemplated returning to battle, then they thought better of it. When Thrawn spoke, it was best to listen.

"Give it up. This will gain you nothing."

"No!" said Kantasha. "The death of Jade is more than enough of a prize for me."

"And then what?" the Chiss asked. "You would be killed in return. Have you not seen? Skywalker, while he may or may not try to pull the Republic back together, is never going to support the Empire again. He knows you killed Novell. He believed himself unworthy, believed himself to be a murderer. He thought he didn't belong with his friends. Now he knows he was wrong."

Kantasha trembled. "But it was so perfect...Skywalker began doubting the Republic, and that nosy Novell was no longer able to prevent the spice exchange from happening...We had the funds to uplift the Empire...I thought his doubts were deeply ingrained. _You led me to believe they were deeply ingrained!_" She was shouting now, the manic glint in her eyes intensifying. "I provided the catalyst! Then we were to tell him later! We were to admit everything! I couldn't hide things from him for forever! I love him!" She began whimpering. "I worked so hard." Kantasha Pellaeon began rocking back and forth and whispering to herself.

Thrawn looked upon her sadly. She was no longer listening to anyone. "Her mother was insane," he said quietly to the others in the room, who now had no doubt about Kantasha's insanity. "That's where she got it. She told you that Vader sabotaged the cruise liner that her parents were on, but it wasn't true. She simply chose to think that...Actually, her mother killed her father and then committed suicide." The Chiss gave a grim smile. "It is rather ironic on several levels. Ironic that I have been involved with insane Jedi twice, though I thought maybe a sane Jedi or two this time could counterbalance it...It is ironic that she believed C'baoth to be insane and was unable to see her own madness." He gave a humorless laugh. "You thought, Skywalker, that she didn't see Gilad very often because he was away with the military? No...He simply didn't want to see her by himself. He knew she wasn't sane...He could not help but love his own granddaughter—he _still_ loves her—but he knows better than to let any of his unease around her leak out where she can sense it."

He looked at Kantasha, who was still rocking back and forth, lost in her own world.

"Gilad's and my time with C'baoth helped us become skilled at hiding our feelings from Force users, though he'd had to pretend years before with her, so he was at a bit of an advantage..."

As Mara stared at her, her hatred drifted away. "I should have known."

"What is interesting and difficult about dealing with the insane," Thrawn said, "is that often they seem just like everyone else." He glanced at Kantasha, who was still rocking. "Though, I must say, I'm surprised that this didn't happen in front of you earlier. Her episodes are rather unpredictable."

"_No_!" exclaimed Kantasha randomly. She turned her lightsaber on and flung herself at Mara.

Mara, eyes tightly closed, brought Luke's lit lightsaber up to point at Kantasha.

And then it was all over.


	27. Request

**Author's Notes:** In Restless Walks, thanks for the great betaing!

* * *

Kantasha was dead.

Skewered on a green blade wielded by a redhead, the woman had said, "Take care of him," and then promptly died.

Mara had extinguished the lightsaber quickly, handing it wordlessly to Luke, who placed it at his belt. She grabbed Kantasha's deactivated lightsaber from off the floor and handed it to Han, who looked at it in bewilderment.

"If you ever need to slice something, it'll do the job," Mara said simply. She didn't want it, and she doubted Luke wanted it either.

Luke's chest was heaving, and his mind was reeling.

Kantasha's manipulation had gone deep, and even when she had been completely detached from everyone, her subconscious had tugged at his emotions and barriers and caused him massive amounts of confusion. Now, her demanding presence was gone, and he felt winded, relieved, and, strangely, scared...

No one really knew what to say.

Threepio, his internal logic processors telling him that it would be a good time to fill the silence with his chatter, spoke. "Goodness gracious me! What an awful lot of confusion this has been! First, Master Luke being with the Empire, then—"

Artoo blatted something that translated, simply, to: _Shut up._

"Barbaric beeping bucket of bolts," Threepio muttered.

"Your name'll be cleared, Skywalker," Karrde said, looking at the pair of droids in mild amusement. "How do you feel?" Despite his seeming casualness, he was keeping a close eye on Thrawn.

"Better," the Jedi reported shortly.

"You don't have to worry about me, Talon Karrde," the Chiss said. "I've nothing to gain by attack, nor do I have the means. I know you are all wondering what to do with me, and perhaps I can help you with that. The first thing you should know is that if you kill me, then you will regret it."

"Oh really?" Han sounded skeptical.

"I knew that, in the end, with the odds as they were—for, after all, if one of your main assets is an insane Jedi, the odds certainly aren't in your favor—I would not win. However, I owed it to the Empire to try, whether I was destined to fail or not. Had this operation involved the possible deaths of several of my men, I would not even have considered it. As it was, I knew the deaths would be few if failure was met."

"And how did you know that?" Leia asked. She hadn't been very talkative. She was still wondering how to act around her brother.

"I am familiar with Rebel—excuse me, Republic—ideals. You kill enemies in situations such as mine only as a last resort. Now, in exchange for my life and for the fulfillment of one other condition, I will help you put your government back together." Thrawn's face was serious. He was an honorable man, and they knew he meant no deceit.

"Oh?" Han said suspiciously. "And what is that?"

"That you allow me to negotiate a truce between the Empire and the Republic."


	28. Conclusion

**Author's Note:** In Restless Walks, thanks for betaing the last few bits of Murderer for me!

* * *

The New Republic had been restored, to a certain degree, with the help of many individuals (and the help of a rather large Star Destroyer commanded by Gilad Pellaeon). Thrawn was still helping implement certain safeguards before the long truce process began.

Luke was sitting his Coruscant apartment, quietly contemplating, as he had nearly every day after the incident involving Kantasha Pellaeon's death. His name had been cleared, but there still seemed to be something (or perhaps several somethings) bugging him.

The door chimed, and the Jedi slowly rose up and answered it. Mara stood there.

"Sit down on the couch," she instructed bluntly.

Confused but amused, he complied.

She sat down beside him. "Skywalker, look at me."

Flinching, he did as he was told.

"Where are you?" she asked, staring into his eyes.

He thought about feigning confusion, but he knew what she meant.

Where was he, in the Dark or the Light?

To tell the truth, he wasn't even sure he knew. He felt almost indifferent, like he was actually dabbling in Gray.

Sensing that he wasn't going to answer, Mara began shooting questions off at him, which he answered without thinking.

"Do you know your family loves you?"

"Yes."

"Do you know your friends love you?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe the Republic can survive this time?"

"Yes."

"Are you mad at Thrawn?"

"No."

"Are you mad at Kantasha?"

"No."

That one seemed to throw her off. "Oh?"

"She was troubled...I can understand that," Luke said quietly.

"Okay...Are you angry at anything?"

"No."

"Do you feel anything at all?"

"...No."

And there it was. He was feeling indifferent. He'd gone from two extremes and was now smack dab in the middle. He just didn't care.

People had tried talking to him, but it was just no use. You couldn't make someone who didn't care...care.

Mara took a deep breath. It was going to be weird, and it was going to be outside her comfort zone, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

She poked his chest. "Do you feel that?"

"Yes."

She fluttered her fingers across his chest. "That?"

"Yes."

She moved her hands down to his sides, where he stared at them. She placed her hands under his shirt, resting them against his warm stomach. "That?"

"Yes."

Then Mara removed his shirt. She saw a flicker of something in his eyes. _Good_, she thought.

Feeling like a silly schoolgirl, Mara leaned down and kissed his belly. "That?"

A hint of amusement made its way into his voice. "Yes."

Continuing her one-word questions while receiving one-word answers, Mara made her way up his chest. Finally, she came to his throat, placing a kiss on it, and noting with satisfaction the chill that coursed through his body. When she playfully bit his right ear, his answer was a very shaky, "Yes."

She placed her forehead against his, their noses touching. Gazing into his eyes, she asked, "This?"

"Yes."

She pulled back a little, moving her gaze down his face. "How about this?"

Throwing away all that made up the image she projected of herself (independence, a caustic attitude, no concern for anyone), Mara Jade slowly, teasingly, moved her lips toward Luke's. Impatient, he put his hands around her and brought her closer, enveloping her lips in his. His indifference was gone as he held this woman in his arms and knew his life could never be the same again.

"Yes, Mara Jade. Yes," he breathed at last.

She smiled, tracing a finger across his chest.

"I love you," he said, causing her to bring her eyes up to meet his. "You know just what to do to get me out of a slump. You always have."

"And always will, farmboy." She rested her head against him, and he played contentedly with her red-gold hair. "And always will."


End file.
